Brennivín
Encyclopedia
Schnapps
Schnapps is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage. The English word schnapps is derived from the German Schnaps , which can refer to any strong alcoholic drink but particularly those containing at least 32% ABV...
that is considered to be Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
's signature liquor
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
. It is made from fermented potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
mash and is flavoured with caraway
Caraway
Caraway also known as meridian fennel, or Persian cumin is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe and Northern Africa....
seeds. It is sometimes called svarti dauði ("Black Death").
At times it is drunk as a "chaser" after sampling hákarl
Hákarl
Hákarl or kæstur hákarl is a food from Iceland. It is a Greenland or basking shark which has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for four to five months...
, which consists of putrefied shark flesh, to mask the fish's taste. The word brennivín literally translates into English as 'burning wine', and comes from the same root as brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
, namely brandewijn which has its roots in the Dutch language
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
(also compare German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Branntwein).
Despite its status as the national beverage
National dish
A national dish is a dish, food or a drink that is considered to represent a particular country, nation or region.A dish can become a national dish for a variety of reasons. It can be the national dish because it is a staple daily food for the majority of the population. It can also be the national...
and despite its being the traditional drink for the mid-winter feast of Þorrablót
Þorrablót
Þorrablót , or Thurseblot, is an Icelandic midwinter festival that takes place in the month of Þorri, according to the Old Icelandic Calendar, which starts in late January and ends in late February. These festivals were started by Icelandic student associations in the latter half of the 19th century...
, many Icelanders do not regularly drink Brennivín. It has a strong taste, a high alcohol content (37.5% ABV
Alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage .The ABV standard is used worldwide....
), and a dubious reputation. It is often associated with alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
Brennivín is similar to Scandinavian akvavit
Akvavit
Akvavit or aquavit is a traditional flavoured spirit that is principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century....
, especially the Danish variety, called brændevin. In Swedish it is called brännvin, and in Norwegian brennevin. The steeping of herbs in alcohol to create Schnapps is a long-held folk tradition in all Scandinavian countries. Brennivín is featured in the Halldor Laxness
Halldór Laxness
Halldór Kiljan Laxness was a twentieth-century Icelandic writer. Throughout his career Laxness wrote poetry, newspaper articles, plays, travelogues, short stories, and novels...
novel Iceland's Bell
Iceland's Bell
Iceland's Bell is a historical novel by Nobel prize-winning Icelandic author Halldór Kiljan Laxness. It was published in three parts in the period between 1943 and 1946: Iceland's Bell , The Bright Jewel and Fire in Copenhagen...
.
The label used to have the letters ÁTVR
ÁTVR
Áfengis- og tóbaksverslun ríkisins or ÁTVR is a state owned company that has a monopoly on the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco in Iceland. It runs the Vínbúð chain, often called Ríkið after its owner....
inside the circle but now it has been replaced by a coastal outline of Iceland.
In popular culture
- In Kill Bill Vol. 2Kill BillKill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
the character Budd drinks Brennivín. - Brennivín is mentioned in the Foo FightersFoo FightersFoo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
song "Skin and Bones," the line being "brennivín and cigarettes." - Icelandic filmsCinema of IcelandIceland has a notable cinema film industry. There are many actors to list who have caught international attention. The most famous film, and the only one to be nominated for the Oscar and European film awards, is Children of nature, directed by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson...
such as Kristnihald undir Jökli, Land og synir, Stuttur Frakki, Djöflaeyjan, Ingaló, Cold FeverCold FeverCold Fever is a 1995 Icelandic film directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson. It is a road movie set in Iceland and was the first of Friðrik's films to be made in the English language. The movie depicts the travels of a Japanese man across Iceland...
, and others have featured the drink. - Brennivin is the name of a song by The Album LeafThe Album LeafThe Album Leaf is an American solo musical project founded in San Diego, California in 1998 by Jimmy LaValle. He is known for his use of electronics, synthesizer and Rhodes piano...
on his Seal Beach EPSeal Beach EPSeal Beach is an EP by The Album Leaf. It was originally released in Spain in 2003 on Acuarela Discos, and was re-released in 2005 in America by Better Looking Records with five bonus live tracks.-Re-release track listing:#Malmo#Brennivin#Seal Beach...
. - Brennivin is consumed frequently in the novels of the Nobel Prize-winning Icelandic writer Halldor Laxness.
- The song 'Brennivin' appears on the Faroese band Týr's album, Land.
- Zane LampreyZane LampreyZane Lamprey is a comedian, actor, editor, producer, and writer for television and movies. He grew up in Syracuse and attended SUNY Cortland in Cortland, New York where he majored in fine arts and minored in theatre.He has had a varied career in entertainment...
drank Brennivin and learned about its history on the Iceland episode of Three Sheets - The character Iceland, in Hetalia: Axis PowersHetalia: Axis Powersis a Japanese webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by . The series presents an allegorical trivialisation of political and historic events, particularly of the World War II era, in which the various countries are represented by stereotyped anthropomorphic characters...
, involves this drink in his song, "With Love, From Iceland".
See also
- AkvavitAkvavitAkvavit or aquavit is a traditional flavoured spirit that is principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century....
- BrännvinBrännvinBrännvin is a Swedish word for liquor distilled from potatoes, grain, or wood cellulose; it may be flavored or unflavored. The term includes vodka and akvavit, but akvavit is always flavored....
- Moonshine — Iceland