This is a continuation of my ongoing series that I’m calling “Scotch Malts, Wife’s Selection”, in which my wife goes through my backlog of SMWS (Scotch Malt Whisky Society) samples that I haven’t reviewed yet, pours them blind, and then I review it blind.

Somehow the Nordic cultures have weathered a lot of the storms of factual, based-in-history evidence. Gone (thankfully) are the days when Westerns were popular. I dare any person in Canada to speak highly of our history without the decrepit residential schools, treatment of the Metis, or the general lack of upholding promises to teach French.

And don’t even get me started on Europe.

Yet somehow when people talk about the vikings, a group that had been historically violent in popular culture, they speak with some happiness and childlike joy. Yes, they didn’t wear spiked helmets. Yes, the berserkers were a group that was mostly seen…