Drink
Brennivín
Brennivín , the common style of brännvin in Iceland, is considered to be the country's signature distilled beverage. It is distilled from fermented grain mash and then combined with Iceland's very soft, high-pH water, and flavored only with caraway. A clear, savory, herbal spirit, the taste is often described as having notes of fresh rye bread. It is considered to be a type of aquavit and bottled at 37,5% ABV (80 proof). The steeping of herbs in alcohol to create schnapps is a long-held folk tradition in Nordic countries, and Brennivín is still the traditional drink for the mid-winter feast of Þorrablót. Today, Icelanders typically drink it chilled, as a shot, with a beer, or as a base for cocktails. It often takes the place of gin in classic cocktails, or of a lighter rum in tropical drinks.
Icelandic: Brennivín, along its sister languages, Danish: brændevin, Faroese: brennivín, Norwegian: brennevin, Swedish: brännvin (Finnish: Viina), is an old Nordic term for distilled liquor, generally from potatoes, grain, or (formerly) wood cellulose etc. The word means "burn[t] (distilled) wine", and stems from Middle Low German: bernewin (found in Old Swedish as brænnevin). It also exists in Dutch: brandewijn (Afrikaans: brandewyn) and German: Branntwein, gebrannter Wein, ultimately cognate to brandy(wine), also French: brandevin.
The history of Brennivín is tied to the history of Iceland. Iceland was settled in the late ninth century by Norwegian and Celtic people. In 1262, Icelanders became subjects of the king of Norway. In 1397, the Kalmar Union between the Nordic countries put Iceland (along with Norway, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands) under the Danish crown. Although beer could not easily survive the ocean journey, malt and honey were freely traded between Scandinavia and Iceland. Icelanders could make their own mead, and, occasionally, beer.
