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A 500-ml plastic bottle of Brennivín (aka "Black Death"), featuring its distinctive black label.

Brennivín (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈprɛnːɪvin]) is a brand of schnapps that is considered to be Iceland's signature liquor. It is made from fermented potato mash and is flavoured with caraway seeds. It is sometimes called svarti dauði ("Black Death").

Despite its status as the national beverage and despite its being the traditional drink for the mid-winter feast of Þorrablót, many Icelanders do not regularly drink Brennivín. It has a strong taste, a high alcohol content (37.5% ABV), and a dubious reputation. It is often associated with alcoholism.

Brennivín is similar to Scandinavian akvavit. 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.

Etymology[link]

The word "brennivín" translates literally into English as "burning wine" and comes from the same root as brandy, namely brandewijn which has its roots in the Dutch language (also compare German Branntwein).

Serving[link]

At times it is drunk after eating hákarl, which consists of putrefied shark flesh, to mask the taste of the fish.

Branding[link]

The bottle's label used to have the letters ÁTVR inside the circle, but now they have been replaced by the coastal outline of Iceland.

In popular culture[link]

• In Kill Bill Vol. 2 the character Budd drinks Brennivín.
• Brennivín is mentioned in the Foo Fighters song "Skin and Bones," the line being "brennivín and cigarettes."
• Icelandic films such as Kristnihald undir Jökli, Land og synir, Stuttur Frakki, Djöflaeyjan, Ingaló, Cold Fever, and others have featured the drink.
• Brennivin is the name of a song by The Album Leaf on his Seal Beach EP.
• 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 Lamprey drank Brennivin and learned about its history on the Iceland episode of Three Sheets
• The character Iceland, in Hetalia: Axis Powers, involves this drink in his song, "With Love, From Iceland".
• In Philip Kerr's The One from the Other, main character Bernie Gunther gets drunk on Black Death upon learning that his second wife is about to die.
• In EE Ryan's novella, The Odd Saga of the American and a Curious Icelandic Flock, the character Snorri warns of the dangers of Brennivín, but later becomes intoxicated on it.

See also[link]

• Akvavit
• Brännvin
• Moonshine — Iceland

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