Norway
Oslo Håndverksdestilleri
The first product from Oslo Håndverksdestilleri (which will be the first production distillery to open in Norway since 1927), offering a taste of the Norwegian forest! These bitters are made with 16 botanicals including berries, leaves, flowers, roots and stems from the Nordic landscape and allowed to rest in oak barrels for several months.
Exotic and spiced, there’s touches of laurel oiliness, bog myrtle and a gentle, fleshed out, citric sweetness. This then broadens into a sweet/sour/bitter complex melange of roots, herbs, and spices. Heady. In time, it rises into a menthol area, while at the same time digging itself into the moistened earth. Complex in other words.
Very intense and drier than the nose suggests but with enough of a rounded palate to balance. This is a cleansing draft, with the dusty, forest floor flavours of gentian and calamus held in check by subtle sweetness and that citric element.
The bitter notes come through but that balance is always well maintained. I like it.
This is an unusual bitter that can only be compared to Fernet Branca as there is little else like it. It is however very different. The warmth hits you immediately. Roots ,pine logs mosses and and myrtle are all balanced with a peppery fire and a hint of honey. It tastes of the Norwegian outside and is, in fact, such a treat on a cold winter evening that it was hard to put down during the tasting. Absolutely five star.
