It sold out in less than an hour in Norway, as all Bivrost whiskies do so far, and equally fast in most of the other countries to which we export, thanks to a limited number of bottles and an ever-growing follower base for which I am grateful. Most people call that a success.
However, in my opinion, that's just the natural order of things for Aurora based on the limited availability, the hype around us, and the theme of the 9 Worlds. So I'm not trying to show off the sales, what I'm trying to say is that success should not be measured by them.
In the case of Helheim, questioning if it was a success or not feels a bit like a strange mix of imposter syndrome and self-deprecation of my own work blending it... which in my head seems natural. But often we are the worst judges of our own work, so let me tell you the story of how Helheim came to be, what the intentions behind it were and what the flavour profile intended was, and then you can decide for yourself (hopefully with a dram in hand) if the end result meets the intentions and expectations succesfully.
First of all, let me be frank, this World was much easier than the previous. Partly because Asgard was my first blend at Aurora, having just arrived a month before and still in the process of becoming familiar with the stock in the warehouse. But largely because I had no control over what the label said. The "Muscat casks" element in Asgard had been decided way before I arrived... and that is where the fun began. When I went into the warehouse to sample the Muscat casks there was a clear sulphur element to both aroma and taste in the whisky. Undesirable, yes, but no point ignoring it and best to find a way to deal with it. I won't go into the details of what we did, that's best reserved for the Asgard post. Fast forward a few months and the same problem pops up in Helheim: the labels said "Crocodile Charred Casks" and the casks were... not entirely undesirable, but flirting hard with the word. Thankfully, the team had set aside a large selection of what might constitute Helheim, and better yet, I had more stock than those set asaide to play with. And, possibly the main saving grace, the label also said: "Ex-Islay Casks". [📣 Insert victory fanfare here.🎵]
Now, I know that Islay does not equal peat all the time, obviously. But I also know that that is what most people believe and assume, shaping the expectations of the market and the dram that might be in their glasses. I was happy to tag-along with those expectations. The theme for Helheim then became clear (in my head): "Second-hand Peat".
The Crocodile Char casks had done an interesting job in preparing for this too, and it was straightforward to finish the whisky that they contained in some fresh Ex-Islay quarter casks for a few months. That whisky was blended to complement the already existing ex-Islay stock, and we were mostly to the goal at this point. However, the next challenge was to make up the volume needed. To be honest that wasn't so much of a challenge because, as I mentioned before, we had the volume set aside and could tap into different casks to achieve it; but the difficult element here was me. I was not willing to compromise the quality of the blend for the sake of volume. This was the world of the dead, to be released on Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead), and I have a long standing love affair with the bony lass. A clear reflection of the culture I grew up in where we celebrate our deceased ancestors; we not so much sing and dance to them as we sing and dance with them. We decorate their graves and our altars with flowers and place offerings of food, drinks, and sentimental memories.
This "intimate relationship with Death" as the poet, and Nobel Prize winner, Octavio Paz calls it, naturally provided an intimate relation with the blend. And there was a particular train of thought that kept coming to my mind: was I happy enough with the whisky to want it in my Day of the Dead offering? For my ancestors? For myself? I had to be satisfied enough with it to know that I will enjoy a post-mortem dram with my ancestors and that those I leave behind will remember me with it.
Morbid? Maybe... but lucky me, I like peat.
So. It's strange to write this down. It is perhaps more personal than I'm supposed to be when writing these posts. But that is it, that is the inspiration behind Helheim and the benchmark by which it should be judged.
Is it my best blend? Hopefully not! 😅 I will keep working, blending, learning, experimenting, developing, and striving to make delicious whiskies. But even so, I do believe that one day, when I look back, I will be content with this bottle. And I sure as hell hope that my ancestors are looking kindly on it too.
Comments