Den Klodsede Bjørn Danish Premium Vodka 50 cl 40%

A man reads Russian philosophy and metaphysics, and somewhere along the way decides to make vodka instead. He teaches himself the craft, borrows space at a small distillery and fills 75 litres at a time. The bottles are named after a clumsy bear.

Expert description

Den Klodsede Bjørn Vodka is a Danish Vodka distilled from Danish barley and wheat malt and bottled unfiltered at 40%.

Behind the bottle stands Frederik Plum, a self taught distiller who began making vodka in 2013, the same year his son was born. He works at Trolden Distillery, where the malt is both malted and brewed on site before it ever reaches the stills.

Distillation runs three times through small Portuguese copper pot stills. A batch is 75 litres and yields somewhere between 150 and 170 bottles, each of them numbered by hand. It is not a way of working that scales, and it is not meant to.

The decisive choice is that the distillate is never filtered. Ordinary vodka is usually run through activated charcoal, which strips out both faults and character. Here the grain stays in, giving a creamy, almost dairy texture and a peppery spice you do not normally associate with vodka.

Tasting notes

Nose

White pepper first, then something mineral like rain on warm stone. Below sits white bread, caraway and a trace of aniseed.

Palate

Creamy and almost dairy sweet in the middle with a clear minerality. White and black pepper clean the mouth again before the sweetness can turn heavy.

Finish

Creamy bread and cracked black pepper. The spice hangs on longest and makes it far more characterful than most.

Specifications

Name: Den Klodsede Bjørn Vodka
Distillery: Trolden Distillery
Bottler: Den Klodsede Bjørn
Region/Country: Denmark
Type: Danish Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 50 CL
Distillation method: Triple distilled in small Portuguese copper pot stills, unfiltered
Serving suggestion: Fridge cold in a small glass, or in a Vodka Martini where the pepper gets room.

Flavour profile

Creamy · Mineral · Peppery · Unfiltered

Did you know?

The letters V.A.M.P. on the label are not a nod to vampires. They are the initials of his son's four names, Vladimir Asbjørn Munk Plum, born in the very year the first vodka was distilled.

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Frequently asked questions about Den Klodsede Bjørn Vodka

What does unfiltered mean here?

That the distillate was never run through activated charcoal before bottling. Filtration removes the last impurities, but it also removes a good deal of grain character and texture. Without it the malt flavour, the creamy mouthfeel and the spice all stand stronger.

What is it made from?

Danish barley malt and wheat malt, malted and brewed at the distillery before distillation begins. That is an approach you know from whisky rather than from vodka, and it explains the clear bready note.

What does it taste like?

Creamy and almost dairy sweet with a clear minerality and a peppery spice that cleans the mouth. There are notes of white bread, caraway and a trace of aniseed. It is markedly more characterful than a typical neutral vodka.

How many bottles are in a batch?

Between 150 and 170. Each batch is 75 litres and every bottle is numbered by hand. That also means small differences can occur from batch to batch, which is entirely deliberate.

How should it be served?

Fridge cold rather than freezer cold. The freezer shuts down the creamy texture and the pepper, while around 8 to 10 degrees lets both speak. Serve it in a small tulip shaped glass if you have one.

Does it work in cocktails?

Yes, but choose drinks with few ingredients. A Vodka Martini or a Vesper lets the pepper and malt come forward, and a plain vodka and soda works too. In sweet or heavily spiced drinks the character is lost.

Who is Frederik Plum?

A Danish distiller who taught himself the craft after studying Russian philosophy and metaphysics. He started making vodka in 2013 and has held on to the same small scale ever since. Other houses sit in our Vodka Brands.