brennivín
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Brennivín () is considered to be
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
'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 Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...
. 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 40%
ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
(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.


Etymology

The word "brennivín" means "burning wine" and comes from the same origin as brandy, namely ''brandewijn,'' which has its origins in the
Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...
(also compare German ''Branntwein'' and
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
''brandewyn''). A variation of the same word is used in other
North Germanic languages The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also ...
. In Swedish the liquor is referred to as "brännvin", in Danish as "brændevin", in Norwegian as "brennevin" and in Faroese as "brennivín".


History

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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. In 1397, the Kalmar Union between the Nordic countries put Iceland (along with Norway,
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...
, and the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
) 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. But in 1602 the Danish King instituted a trade monopoly, the "Einokunarverslun," in Iceland. Only certain Danish merchants could trade with Iceland, and Icelanders could not trade with anyone else. Mead, beer, honey and malt took up valuable space on the ships. Spirits, however, took up less space, didn't spoil, and could be sold for a much higher price. The distillation techniques of the day (known as "burning") meant that the resulting spirits (known as "burnt wine" or "brann-vin") were often less than appealing. One way to improve the taste was to infuse the spirits with herbs. Even in the harsh climate of Iceland, caraway was available, and used to flavor the shipments of spirits from Denmark. And so, aquavit was born. The trade monopoly ended in 1786, and thirty years later modern distillation techniques made their way to Scandinavia. Of course, by then the taste for various aquavits had already been well established in all the Nordic countries. Cleaner spirits were available, but people still preferred them flavored with herbs. Although the trade monopoly was no more, the Danish Distilling Company had a monopoly on distillation in Denmark and the territories it controlled, including Iceland. Icelanders were forbidden to distill their own spirits. In 1908, a prohibition referendum was passed in Iceland. Starting in 1912 all imports of alcohol would cease. There would be no more beer, no more wine, and no more distilled spirits. Any remaining stocks of alcoholic beverages had to be consumed or destroyed by 1915. In 1918 Iceland regained its independence from Denmark. Absent prohibition, the Danish monopoly on distillation would no longer apply. In 1935, prohibition was partially repealed. Once again spirits would be allowed, but the production, distribution, and sale would be controlled by the now independent government. Beer would remain illegal until March 1, 1989. As the Icelanders were no longer captive to the Danish Distilling Company, they could make whatever they wished. The Icelandic government set up the State Alcohol Company of Iceland, known as the "AVR", which still exists today as the "ATVR". One of the few spirits the AVR decided to produce was caraway-flavored Brennivín. In contrast to the colorful French and Italian spirits labels at the time, the government of Iceland demanded a stark black and white label for the newly legal spirit. The green bottle displayed a white skull on the black label in order to warn against consumption (later replaced by the map of Iceland and a clear bottle). Therefore, it was sometimes called "svarti dauði" (black death). The intention was to be visually unappealing, and limit demand. It didn't work. For decades, Brennivín was the drink of choice for Icelanders and became a pop-culture treasure brought home by travelers. In 2014, it was finally legally imported to America. And by then, Brennivín had practically become a symbol of Iceland itself.


Serving

Brennivín is typically served cold 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. It is also the traditional accompaniment to the uniquely Icelandic '' hákarl'', a type of fermented
shark meat Shark meat is a seafood consisting of the flesh of sharks. Several sharks are fished for human consumption, such as porbeagles, shortfin mako shark, requiem shark, and thresher shark, among others. Shark meat is popular in Asia, where it is ...
.


Branding

Various Icelandic distilleries produce different brands of brennivín, which all have their own character although loyal to the old brennivín once produced by the state-owned monopoly ÁTVR.


Availability outside Iceland

Export of Brennivín from Iceland to the United States began in early 2014. Export to Germany and Canada followed, as well as sales to Denmark and Sweden.


In popular culture

*In music: **The Foo Fighters song, "Skin and Bones" prominently mentions Brennivín, ("All worn out and nothing fits, Brennivín and cigarettes, The more I give the less I get, But I'm all set") and Dave Grohl often wears a Brennivin t-shirt. **"Brennivin" is the name of a song on the ''Seal Beach'' EP of The Album Leaf project. **A song "Brennivin" appears on the Faroese band
Týr (; Old Norse: , ) is a god in Germanic mythology, a valorous and powerful member of the and patron of warriors and mythological heroes. In Norse mythology, which provides most of the surviving narratives about gods among the Germanic people ...
's album, ''
Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...
''. *In films and Television: **On the NBC show, Blindspot, there is an Icelandic character, Ice Cream, and in Season 5 Episode 6 the main characters all share a shot of Brennivin at the end of the episode. ** Icelandic films such as '' Kristnihald undir Jökli, Land og synir, Stuttur Frakki, Djöflaeyjan, Ingaló, Cold Fever'', and others have featured the drink. *In a Japanese
webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be c ...
**The character Iceland, in the Japanese webcomic '' Hetalia: Axis Powers'', involves this drink in his song, "With Love, From Iceland".


References


See also

*
Akvavit ''Akvavit'' or ''aquavit'' (; also ''akevitt'' in Norwegian; ''aquavit'' in English) is a distilled spirit that is principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century. ''Akvavit'' is distilled from grain or po ...
*
Brännvin Brännvin is a Swedish liquor distilled from potatoes, grain, or (formerly) wood cellulose. It can be plain and colourless, or flavoured with herbs and spices. Beverages labelled ''brännvin'' are usually plain and have an alcohol content betwee ...
* Moonshine — Iceland {{DEFAULTSORT:Brennivin Icelandic distilled drinks Icelandic cuisine