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Dish · Iceland
Kjötsúpa
Lamb soup cooked with potato, carrot, rutabaga or turnip and herbs in a thick broth. It’s the winter dish most closely associated with Icelandic homes, with a different recipe in every family.
Flavors · Iceland
Brennivín
A grain spirit flavored with caraway, served very cold in small measures. Launched in 1935 when Iceland again allowed distilled spirits, it became the drink of Þorrablót.
Traditional drink from Iceland
Also known as: Íslenskt brennivín, Svarti dauði
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Brennivín — Iceland
Brennivín is a clear grain spirit flavored with caraway, a seed with a taste close to cumin. The word means ‘burnt wine’, that is, distilled spirit, and in Icelandic it can refer to spirits in general; but it is the spirit introduced in 1935 that everyone associates with the name.
The story involves prohibitions. Alcohol restrictions were relaxed in stages: wine was allowed again in 1922 and distilled spirits in 1935; strong beer was only legalized in 1989. When the ban on distilled spirits ended, the state alcohol monopoly began producing a caraway spirit, and so brennivín was born.
The sober black label, reportedly chosen so the drink would not appear attractive, ended up becoming its trademark and earned it the nickname ‘Black Death’. In 1992 the state monopoly stopped production and sold the equipment to a private company. Other Icelandic distilleries now make spirits in the same style.
Brennivín is served very cold, in small measures, and is the traditional drink of Þorrablót, where it accompanies þorramatur and especially hákarl.
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Where it comes from
Iceland
The spirit of all Iceland, associated with Þorrablót.
Ingredients
Distilled grain, caraway, and water.
How it is eaten
Very cold, neat, in small measures, accompanying þorramatur.
When it is eaten
Þorrablót in midwinter, and other traditional festivals.
Your questions
Questions about Brennivín
What is brennivín?
An Icelandic grain spirit flavored with caraway, served very cold in small measures.
Since when has brennivín existed?
Since 1935, when Iceland once again allowed distilled spirits and the state monopoly began producing this caraway spirit.
Why is brennivín called Black Death?
Because of the bottle’s sober black label, used from its launch and that became the drink’s trademark.
Flavors of Iceland
Discover other flavors of Iceland
Dish · Iceland
Plokkfiskur
White cooked fish, usually cod or haddock, flaked and mixed with potato, onion, and white sauce. A classic Icelandic home dish, served with rye bread and butter.
Dish · Iceland
Rúgbrauð
Dark, dense, slightly sweet rye bread, baked for many hours at low, humid heat. In geothermal areas, it is baked buried in the hot ground and is called hverabrauð.
Dish · Iceland
Þorramatur
Selection of meats and fish preserved in the old-fashioned way, served at Þorrablót, the festival of the month of Þorri in midwinter. It is accompanied by rye bread, butter and brennivín.
Dish · Fiordes do Oeste
Kæst skata
Skata fermented for several weeks, cooked and served with potato, rutabaga, melted lamb tallow and rye bread. It is the dish of December 23, a custom that started in the Westfjords and spread across Iceland.
Dish · Nordeste
Laufabrauð
Very thin wheat dough discs, cut with leaf designs and fried until crisp. It is the Icelandic Christmas bread, a tradition that remained especially in the north of the country before spreading.