Tumbler of the Beast: Dansk Mjod Viking Blod
Tired of the same old well whiskey and plastic bottle brandy, but don’t want to feel like an asshole ordering some bullshit digestif like a hipster? Welcome to Tumbler Of The Beast, our guide to the most metal liquors on earth.
Liquor: Dansk Mjod Viking Blod
Country of origin: Denmark
ABV: 19% (38 proof)
Musical accompaniment: Amon Amarth, Ensiferum, Unleashed, Manowar
Technically, the inclusion of Viking Blod in this series is a little unfair, as mead is more of a wine than a liquor. However, given its name, taste, and overall effect, I’d say that this qualifies as metal enough to be included, and the kind of drink that headbangers should have on their To-Quaff lists. So.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the stuff, mead is made by fermenting honey, usually with other spices, which is where it gets its incredibly sweet flavor and its no-joke potency. But unlike other sweet liquors—Coldcock, for instance—mead is a pleasant sipping drink, and generally has some nuance to its flavor. The stuff was consumed throughout the ages, from China to Greece, but nowhere more notably than in Viking-ruled Scandinavia, where mead halls were commonplace. In Beowulf, the warriors all swill mead, and there’s even a legend of a giant goat named Heiðrún, who lived in Valhalla and lactated mead for the souls of dead Viking warriors. Appetizing, right?
Viking Blod is recognizable by its large ceramic bottle, its pinkish-amber coloring, and its full, rounded flavor. It’s fermented with hops and hibiscus, which give it a slightly darker color than typical honey wine (hence the name). But while you can’t really taste the hops—there’s only a hint of that heady bitterness—the hibiscus cuts the sweetness of the honey, thus keeping the mead from being too cloying in its flavor. It’s also not as sticky or tacky as one might imagine, and can be drank with some class, like a grappa or a cognac. But like I said earlier, the sugar content is considerable, so be careful—this stuff can be easy to gulp down, but will give you en energetic drunk followed by the worst hangover of your life.
Dansk Mjod suggests enjoying Viking Blod as an after-dinner cocktail, but also suggests drinking it over ice with fruit (sort of a “skalgria”, if you’re feeling clever) or heated up but not boiled as a ‘Winter Warmer.’ Experiments with the former certainly prove delicious in sort of a fancy backyard party way, though the flavor lingers long enough that you might need a crisp Pilsner to wash it down. Frozen fruit is a good substitute for ice if you don’t want to water the mead down. I haven’t tried to Winter Warmer, mainly because it’s fucking September and I’m still enjoying my metal summer.
Cool personal anecdote: the first time I had Viking Blod was with Johan Hegg and Olavi Mikkonen of Amon Amarth. I was an intern at Revolver and the band was there teaching us how to make homemade mead in old milk jugs. Since that shit takes a while, we then enjoyed a bottle bought by the magazine. Hegg said it was good, but not his favorite. In general, for dudes who sing about death in fire and make booze at home, they were the nicest guys in the world. Anyway.
You can find Viking Blod in most decent liquor or wine stores. It’ll be a little expensive—usually between $36 and $40—but it’s definitely worth it. There are other, more readily-available meads out there—Ragnar’s Reserve is a popular brand—but come on, if you’re going to be drinking mead with your friends, there’s no reason not to be drinking Viking Blod. Make a wild night of it, and remember: there’s always more where that came from in Valhalla.
