Spirit of Hven Swedish Organic Vodka 50 cl 40%

Ven sits in the middle of the Öresund strait, a flat patch of land with slopes falling to the water and some of the best farmland in Sweden. A couple of hundred people live there. There is also a distillery that calls itself the smallest pot still distillery in the world, and which grows its grain within sight of the still.

Expert description

Spirit of Hven Swedish Organic Vodka is a Swedish Organic Vodka made from certified organic grain, rested in oak casks, redistilled and bottled at 40%.

The unusual part is in that sentence. The vodka is not bottled straight off the still but first spends between six and twenty-four months in oak casks. It is then distilled again, and it is that second pass which removes the colour while the texture and part of the cask character stay behind. The result is a vodka that is crystal clear in the glass but behaves fuller than its colour suggests.

The distillery was founded in 2008 by Henric and Anja Molin, and Henric Molin still runs the distillation. The house keeps both a laboratory and its own hotel, and the technical level is high: distillation is deliberately run below the 96.5% a column can reach, because those final percentage points are exactly where the aroma compounds live.

The grain is certified organic and sourced as locally as possible. The island soil shifts from mineral rich clay in the north to sand in the south, and the microclimate that comes from lying between two coasts is part of the explanation for how somewhere this small can ship spirits to more than 40 countries.

Tasting notes

Nose

Soft and lightly sweet. Vanilla first, clearly from the cask, then a pale grain note and a suggestion of dried hay.

Palate

Full and round without being heavy. The vanilla continues, the grain gives a mild sweetness, and a lightly spiced warmth sits underneath.

Finish

Medium length and dry. The vanilla lingers longest and the close is soft rather than sharp.

Specifications

Name: Spirit of Hven Swedish Organic Vodka
Distillery: Spirit of Hven
Region/Country: Ven, Skåne, Sweden
Type: Swedish Organic Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 50 CL
Distillation method: Pot distilled, rested in oak casks and then redistilled
EAN no.: 7350044859021
Serving suggestion: Cool and neat in a small glass with shellfish, or in a Martini where the vanilla gets room.

Flavour profile

Vanilla · Soft · Full · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

Ven is the island where Tycho Brahe built his observatory Uraniborg in the sixteenth century and mapped the night sky with the naked eye. The distillery has folded his legacy into its naming: the house Single Malt Whisky is called Tycho's Star, after the new star he observed and described.

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Frequently asked questions about Spirit of Hven Swedish Organic Vodka

Why has a vodka been rested in oak casks?

To pick up texture and aroma. The spirit rests between six and twenty-four months in oak, where it takes on vanilla and a fuller mouthfeel, and it is then distilled again. The second distillation carries the colour away but leaves part of the cask character behind.

Is it certified organic?

Yes. Only certified organic grain is used in production, and the house works with local raw materials wherever possible. It is not merely a badge on the label but a condition for the whole range.

Where is Ven?

In the middle of the Öresund strait off Landskrona in Skåne, with Denmark on one side and Sweden on the other. The island is small, with only a couple of hundred permanent residents, and its soil is reckoned among the best farmland in Sweden.

How is it best drunk?

Cool rather than ice cold, in a small glass with a tapered rim. Ice cold shuts the vanilla down and you lose what the cask has added. Around ten degrees shows both the sweetness and the light spice.

What should I serve it with?

Shellfish, herring and cured fish. The fuller texture handles fat better than a dry neutral vodka, and the vanilla stands up surprisingly well to prawns and to smoked fish. It can also be used as a schnapps alongside a Scanian table.

What else does the distillery make?

Single Malt Whisky, rye whisky, corn whisky, gin and aquavit. Whisky is the core product, and the gin and vodka are treated with the same cask method. The range is exported to more than 40 countries from an island you can walk around in a morning.

Can you visit Spirit of Hven?

Yes. There are guided tours, tastings, a restaurant and a hotel on site, so you can eat and sleep at the distillery. Getting there involves a ferry, and that is part of the experience. To see other Nordic houses, look through our Vodka brands.