The Spirit of Hven distillery was founded in 2008, becoming the third pot-still distillery in Sweden and the smallest pot-still distillery in the world. Their single malt Swedish whisky, meanwhile, is Sweden’s first island whisky.
Situated in the Öresund Strait between Denmark and Sweden, the island of Ven or ‘Hven’ (also known as the ‘green island’), has an area of around 3 square miles and a population of 300-400 people. As with many Scottish islands, neither their size nor population has stopped them from producing sensational spirits. The Spirit of Hven distillery is in fact part of the Hven Backafallsbyn 4-Star hotel and conference resort, which has its own whisky bar and restaurant.
For many distilleries, it can take less than 24 hours to produce vodka and gin. For the Spirit of Hven, it can take up to 2 years. Both their Organic Vodka and Gin spend anywhere between 6 and 24 months in oak casks before being redistilled and bottled, a process that leads to both a characteristic flavour and mouthfeel. Other spirits produced include an Organic Oak Matured Aqua Vitae and an Organic Summer Schnapps.
These are handcrafted spirits of the very highest quality, a testament to the skill and expertise of Master Distiller Henric Molin. Spirit of Hven Organic Gin, for example, is the only gin served at Copenhagen's Noma, the Best Restaurant in the World (Restaurant Magazine 2010, 2011 & 2012). All of Spirit of Hven’s products are also free from carbon or chill filtration.
Their single malt whisky uses barley grown on the island for part of their requirement and is produced entirely on site from grain to bottling with sustainability very much in mind. Their Seven Stars range, launched in 2013, will see a new limited edition whisky released every year until 2019.