Barely Brennivín


There was an actual reason that I wanted to write about Brennivín today, a reason I picked this day and put it on the schedule but for the life of me, as I’m sitting down to write this I have no idea why! 

Brennivín, like  Danish Akvavit which you may be more familiar with, is distilled from potatoes and flavored with caraway or cumin or angelica.  However, Brennivín is known as Black Death - not really an endearing nickname!  The word Brennivín itself translates into “burning wine”.  Hmm, this may explain why while it is the national drink of Iceland many Icelanders won’t have much to do with it. 

In checking around the web for my research I found lots of  references to “nastiest most foul tasting liquor” or other such hyperbole.  I won’t be able to try this beverage for myself (it appears maybe thankfully!) so we’ll just have to go by these various reports. 

So why does Brennivín exist, you may ask (and why did I choose today to write about it, I may ask)? 

I’m guessing that, as with many isolated countries, the locals used whatever they had on hand to bring a little spark into their lives.  And even today, Brennivín is the lowest priced (least taxed) spirit you will find in the Icelandic liquor stores.  Plus, there have been stories that the original purpose for Brennivín was to wash down Hákarl, another questionable Icelandic offering.  Hákarl is made from a shark meat, that if eaten raw is poisonous but can be processed to make it edible.  The resulting product has a strong ammonia smell. 

Is this all sounding so amazingly appetizing that you can’t wait to go out and try it?  I thought not, but you know this column is Drinks Around the World and we do our best to educate you on that topic, whether it is pleasant or not! So now you know a little about Brennivín. 

Perhaps the reason I picked today to talk about Brennivín was so that tomorrow we could all be especially thankful that it wasn’t something that would be on our Thanksgiving table!

 



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November 22nd, 2006
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Tom
Posted on:
November 25, 2006 at 2:48 am

I actually like brennivin. I find it the smoothest of all the Scandanavian akvavits available (with Blue Aarlborg second).

And by a strange coincidence we all had a noce shot at the end of our Thanksgiving dinner this year (upon request of one of my guests).

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Brenda Pederson
Posted on:
November 25, 2006 at 2:57 am

Hi Tom! Thanks for the comment - very interesting. Perhaps it’s the brand that makes a difference?
Brenda

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Wayne
Posted on:
November 26, 2006 at 11:50 pm

I was in Iceland last winter, and brought back a couple of bottles — much to the horror of my Icelandic host, who considers it not much better than horsepiss.

But the story I heard about the name is this: the Icelandic government at one point (decades ago) mandated that all liquor bottles be done wkth white ink on black background and contain a skull and crossbones on it. I guess this was a precursor to the “Smoking causes cancer” warnings.

Anyway, people started asking liquor clerks for a bottle of black death, and the name stuck.

I strongly believe there’s a germ of truth in here somewhere.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Brenda Pederson
Posted on:
November 27, 2006 at 2:41 pm

Wayne: Thanks for the bit of trivia. Even if it’s not true it’s a great story!
~ B

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Big P
Posted on:
February 6, 2007 at 11:49 am

This sounds great! Anyone knows who to contact for importaing this vicious piece of liquor??

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Marty
Posted on:
February 19, 2007 at 6:23 pm

Type your comment here.You can purchase it at NordicStore.net

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Zachary Harbin
Posted on:
June 28, 2007 at 9:47 pm

Does anyone know where I can buy a bottle off the internet?

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Alex
Posted on:
July 31, 2007 at 2:02 am

Hi there,

Is Brennivin available in the US? Particularly in NYC?
I’m very curious on how it taste.

Thanks.

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
T. Carter
Posted on:
September 17, 2007 at 1:27 am

I just had a 50 ml bottle of Brennivín that I picked up a few days ago on a layover in Iceland. It wasn’t at all as bad as some sites out there make it sounds; that said, I don’t know when (or if) I’ll drink the second minibottle. The caraway flavor is very prominent when cold (I drank it straight from the freezer), but I’m not sure I would have ID’ed it right away. It actually lingers nicely.

Comment Number:
10
Written by:
Steve
Posted on:
September 26, 2007 at 11:40 am

I tried Brennivin just a few days ago while I was vacationing in Reykjavík, and I found it to be interesting. Like the hákarl I had earlier in the day, it’s definitely an acquired taste. It’s not as bad as some reviews portray. And a pint of Thule finished it off quite nicely.

For the novelty of it, I bought a 500ml bottle for myself, an another for a buddy who asked me to pick one up for him. It should make for quite a conversation piece at my next house party.

Comment Number:
11
Written by:
Matt
Posted on:
March 30, 2008 at 6:20 am

I picked up a bottle of Brennivin at a moving sale in Costa Rica. It came with a gift set of 6 Brennivin shot glasses. it was the best $18 I ever spent on a bottle of liquor. it was the smooth and had a slight taste of anise or licorice, but not enough to turn me off(I hate licorice flavored liquors). My inlaws and I finished a bottle in 25 minutes.I am looking to buy more. Anybody who knows where to buy it in Costa Rica or Los Angeles, please let me know.

Comment Number:
12
Written by:
Andrew
Posted on:
May 31, 2008 at 3:44 am

I just got back from Iceland this evening…im sitting in JFK airport waiting for my connecting flight at the moment…anyway, I bought a hip flask bottle of Brennivin in anticipation of trying harkarl (which is not bad actually, i had it frozen at a nice restaurant, and they said that its supposed to be served frozen which masks a lot of the ammonia)…Brennivin was similarly a lot better than I expected, very smooth and the light licorice taste was nice actually…at a duty free store at the airport, I picked up another bottle to bring home as well as a bottle of the special Limited Edition Brennivin which is aged 8 years in oak barrels…I’ll let you know how that one is when I try it…I havent found any website that even mentions the aged one, so im pretty excited to try it

Comment Number:
13
Written by:
Sal
Posted on:
July 15, 2008 at 6:09 pm

My husband works in the UK for an Icelandic company and the boss has bought him a bottle of Brennivin back from Iceland. I am very eager to experiment, so if anyone knows of any good cocktail recipies or mixers (I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to drinking it straight, then all suggestions would be gratefully received…… Thanks.

Comment Number:
14
Written by:
John
Posted on:
July 28, 2008 at 6:34 pm

Brennivin is one of the best liquors I’ve ever had. I don’t know why it’s called Black Death. Even my wife (who is a rum drinker) likes it. On a recent trip to Iceland we brought back 2 and a half liters of it. Based on how quick we are going through it, our next trip may be sooner than planned.

Comment Number:
15
Written by:
Meltdown in Iceland « NotionsCapital
Posted on:
October 8, 2008 at 2:04 pm

[…] Fewer local customers will be buying imported wines and liquor this weekend; more will buy the local potato-based Brennivin. The financial drunk of uncontrolled financial deregulation is ending with a messy, crushing Sunday hangover. […]

Comment Number:
16
Written by:
Curtis
Posted on:
October 13, 2008 at 5:49 am

I was wondering were to pick some Brennivin up here in the us..i called every liquor warehouse i could find and most of them had never heard of it

Comment Number:
17
Written by:
hildur
Posted on:
November 30, 2008 at 3:29 pm

The Limited Edition Brennivin which is aged 8 years in oak barrels is smoother and has a less sharp kick to it. Both the limited edition and the usual Brennivín is nothing but pleasure to drink. I think evryone should try it. As for the shark meat though…. try sniffing a baby’s nappy when full of urine. That is how it tastes.

Comment Number:
18
Written by:
John
Posted on:
March 14, 2009 at 7:15 pm

Brennivin can be *really* nice! And yes, it does depend on the brand. I tried several varieties in Iceland, and they ranged from pretty rough to very smooth and warming (a real plus when the temperature’s -20C). The infused caraway makes it a unique, exciting and very pleasant taste.

btw - ‘brennivin’ probably translates better as ‘burnt wine’… which is exactly the origin of the word ‘brandy’.

Comment Number:
19
Written by:
Andri
Posted on:
June 12, 2009 at 8:21 pm

I’m an Icelander so I hope I can educate you a bit about this spirit. :)
It was first brewed, at least legally, after the prohibition. Even though the prohibition was lifted, the government wanted to discourage drinking, so they put the black label on it (it was brewed for the governments alcohol and tobacco store, which is still the only place to by alcohol in Iceland).
When other spirits were imported, the cheap, strong brennivín was mostly drunk by towns drunks. We still say someone is “into the brennivin” when implying they are alcoholics.
So this gave our schnapps the rep of being a horrible hobo drink, and many Icelanders really believe this.
I can’t say I’m more than an occasional drinker (of this particular beverage that is) but it’s really worth trying.
as for cocktail recipies…It is usually drunk as a schnapps or a chaser with beer, but, and stay with me, some pour it into cold milk with ice and even mix in nestle quick for a chocolaty taste!

Comment Number:
20
Written by:
Sean a
Posted on:
June 16, 2009 at 2:10 am

Well despite what some may think there are two main brands of this drink one which any self repecting Icelander would never touch much less drink that is marketed for tourist, This is the one that fast nasty. The other one however fast much like candy and is found in most Icelandic homes. It is not realy told to outsiders that one tastes better then the other as they want to keep it a secret of Iceland. It is also the more expense one and cost around $ 60us to import.