Brennivín — tasting notes & food pairings

Brennivín

Brennivín is the signature distilled spirit of Iceland, an unsweetened caraway and cumin akvavit made from fermented grain or potato mash and flavoured with caraway seed. Clear, dry and bottled at around 37.5 to 40 percent alcohol, it is nicknamed Svarti dauði, the Black Death, for its stark black label rather than any danger, and is drunk ice-cold in a small glass, traditionally chased down alongside the fermented shark delicacy hákarl.

Dry & cleanSpirit-forward

Dry, savoury and warming, brennivín leads unmistakably with caraway, backed by an earthy lift of cumin and a faint green herbal note of angelica, over a warm, bready, faintly rye-like grain or potato spirit. Left entirely unsweetened, it is crisp and herbal rather than syrupy, with a clean spicy heat and only the faintest whisper of citrus. The texture is light-bodied but spirituous with a warming alcohol note at around 40 percent, and the finish is dry and aromatic, the caraway and cumin echoing long after the ice-cold glass is drained. Served frozen it turns silky and rounded, the spice muted and the burn softened into a clean, peppery warmth.