Here's one i used to drink when i lived in Iceland:
Brennivín is an
Icelandic schnapps, considered the country's signature
alcoholic beverage. It is made from fermented
potato pulp, and flavoured with
cumin,
caraway seeds or
angelica. It is sometimes called “black death”. Also at times it is drunk as a "chaser" after sampling "
hákarl", which consists of putrified shark meat, to mask the meat's taste. The word brennivín literally translates into English as 'burning wine'. Despite its unofficial status as
national beverage, many Icelanders do not actually drink it, and a majority of the ones who do, drink it only when feeling patriotic or when trying to impress foreign visitors.
This general distaste for the drink can be attributed partly to its strong taste and high alcohol content (37.5%
ABV) and partly due to its reputation. Despite the fact that Iceland presses huge taxes on most alcoholic beverages, brennivín is actually one of the cheapest liquors available in the national alcohol store,
Vínbúð, and is thus often associated with
alcoholics.
Brennivín is similar to Scandinavian
Akvavit, especially the Danish variety. In Swedish it is also called brännvin. 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 novel
Iceland's Bell.
The label used to have a
skull inside the circle to scare people away, it did the opposite and was changed into the letters
ÁTVR. Now it has been replaced by a coastal outline of Iceland.
Iceland leads the world in per capita consumption of
Coca-Cola and historically its primary use was to mask the flavor of Brennivín.
Your Favourite Alcohol?
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