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18 Popular Drinks In Iceland You Should Try

Iceland is a country on an island located in northern Europe. The country has a pretty thick Viking culture.

As a result, the drinking tradition in Iceland is not much different from that of Scandinavian countries.

Well, here are some popular Iceland drinks you should know.


18. Malt og Appelsin

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Malt og Appelsin is a type of beer produced by Egils. The drink is very popular at Christmas in Iceland.

So that Malt og Applesin, which translates to ‘Malt and Appelsin’, is called Jólaöl or traditional Christmas beer.

Malt is an ancient Icelandic drink that was created in 1915. Over the decades, it has tended to be very expensive, so it is often mixed with other drinks to make it last.

One of them is Appelsin, an Icelandic orange soda.

17. Rabarbara

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Rabarbara or Rhubarb liqueur is an Icelandic liqueur made from the rhubarb plant, as its name implies.

Derived from the rhubarb genus in the Polygonaceae family, rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) grows from thick and short rhizomes.

Rabarbara itself is made by 64 ° Reykjavik Distillery, which uses natural ingredients from Iceland.

Rhubarb has long been used as a staple food for Icelanders to become candy for children. So that Rabarbara is a new sensation.

16. Iceland Coffee

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Icelanders are great coffee drinkers, so coffee is a must-have on their table.

In fact, Iceland is the fourth largest coffee consumption per capita in the world. Coffee shops can almost be found on every street corner.

Uniquely, in Iceland, there is no international coffee business chain like Starbucks. So that with so many local cafes in Iceland, the quality of the coffee is very competitive.

Most of the coffee beans are imported from tropical countries such as Colombia, Brazil, and Indonesia.

15. Orka

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Orka is an energy drink brand like Iceland’s Mountain Dew. The product is made by the company Ölgerðin Egils Skallagrímsson.

The ingredients used in it are caffeine, ginseng, and guarana, which come from the Latin country, Brazil.

The drink is arguably quite controversial among Icelanders. Even Orka has sparked debate over and over about whether or not to be banned.

Fortunately, until now, Orka is still widely circulated and sold in many places.

14. Mix

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Mix is ​​a soft drink brand made by the Egils company. Mix becomes a favorite soda for local Icelanders.

The carbonated mix of pineapple and orange flavors makes it refreshing. Also, Mix is ​ known to be very sweet.

Although it is made from a mixture of pineapple and orange, it actually doesn’t taste like both. You could say the results taste unique and classic like in the 90s.

That’s why Mix’s slogan is ​​’engu likt,’ which means ‘unlike the others‘.

13. Mysa

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Mysa is a drink made from greenish whey, leftovers from making skyr or traditional Icelandic yogurt.

Mysa is a drink that originates from the long history of the Viking tradition. Mysa is also often seasoned with various types of fruit.

The drink is essential in the history of the Icelandic people in the early days of settlement.

Because it is because of this sour whey drink that Icelanders can survive the dark and remote winters. The salty taste comes from the preservation of the drink.

12. Ísafold Gin

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Ísafold Gin is a gin-type liquor produced by the renowned Icelandic distillery, Ölgerðin Egils Skallagrímsson.

Ísafold Gin is a classic style gin made from juniper, and it has an alcohol content of about 37.5%.

This gin product launched by Ölgerðin Egils Skallagrímsson has a relatively inconspicuous appearance.

Available in a 200 ml volume plastic container, one of the things that makes Ísafold Gin special is Iceland’s lowest price.

11. Flóki

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Eimverk is a family distillery founded in 2009. Eimverk is Iceland’s only producer of single malt whiskey that is named Flóki.

Also, Eimverk produces other types of liquor, such as gin and also the Viti brand Brennivín.

Flóki became one of the first whiskeys in Iceland that is crafted based on 4 years of experience and 163 trials.

The whiskey distillation process can extract the taste of barley and then age it in American oak barrels.

Other European drinks:

10. Egils Beer

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Egils Beer is a beer product produced by the Icelandic company Ölgerðin Egils Skallagrímsson which is located in Reykjavik.

This brewery, founded in 1913, is Iceland’s oldest. Tómas Tómasson is the founder of Ölgerðin.

Tómas Tómasson initially started the production of drinks and malt extracts. He did it in a two-bedroom basement in Templarasund, Reykjavik.

During the alcohol ban in 1915, Ölgerðin only made a light beer, Egils Pilsner.

9. Fjallagrasa Moss Schnapps

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Fjallagrasa Moss Schnapps is a strong schnapps liqueur made from moss from the Icelandic highlands.

These drinks are often served during major events and celebrations. Fjallagrasa Moss Schnapps is produced by the company Iceherbs hf.

Iceherbs hf. or Íslensk fjallagrös hf. makes the drink from moss and other natural resources native to Iceland, under the trademark Natura Íslandica.

In its production, ground moss is soaked for a long time in a specially prepared alcohol mixture.

8. Ópal & Tópas

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Ópal and Tópas are two brands of licorice-flavored liquor that are popular in Iceland and operate under the Ölgerðin company.

Since the alcohol ban until 1989, Iceland’s drinking tradition has been increasingly celebrated, one of which is through Ópal and Tópas.

Interestingly, the two brands are derived from pastille candy products. So besides being liquor products, Ópal and Tópas are actually candy brands that kids love in Iceland.

Therefore, the two brands used to be from two different companies.

7. Björk & Birkir

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Björk and Birkir are Icelandic liquor brands made from distilled wine made from corn, Icelandic water and flavored with birch syrup that is harvested in the spring.

Both are produced by Foss Distillery, an Icelandic liquor specialty company.

Birch has long been written in the records of drinking in Iceland, possibly since 1860. One of the things that makes birch famous is its health properties.

Birch is believed to have a stimulating effect as well as herbal remedies for various ailments.

6. Collab

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Collab or COLLAB is an Icelandic refreshing drink made with added collagen.

The product was developed in an innovative collaboration with the Icelandic company, FEEL.

The canned drink comes in four different flavors.

Collagen is the main ingredient, which is the selling point of Collab. The body needs the main structural protein.

The collagen in Collab contains 18 different amino acids. The body cannot produce it without help.

5. Icelandic Glacial

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Icelandic Glacial is a brand of bottled mineral water made from Ölfus spring in Iceland.

Icelandic Water Holdings hf. is the company that owns the brand, which is located in Hlidarendi, Ölfus. The company was founded in April 2004.

Icelandic Glacial mineral water products have successfully received Carbon Neutral certification for both product and operations categories from The Carbon Neutral Company.

Because Icelandic Glacial in the process uses natural renewable energy in the form of geothermal energy.

4. Reyka Vodka

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Reyka is a 40% alcoholic vodka drink brand operating in Iceland. The product from the William Grant & Sons company is aimed at the Icelandic market.

Reyka is refined in Borgarnes and has been operating since 2005.

This drink is marketed based on a reputation for purity and uniqueness. Reyka itself comes from an Icelandic word that means ‘smoke‘.

This vodka is made with special skills, using glaciers and geothermal, without going through the mineralization process.

3. Viking Beer

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Viking Beer or Víking Bjór is an Icelandic beer brand produced by CCEP “Viking Brewery”.

The brewery is located in Akureyri, south of the Arctic Circle. Its history dates back to around 1939 when the Efnagerð Siglufjarðar brewery was founded.

Efnagerð Siglufjarðar is a brewery located in Siglufjarðar, Northern Iceland.

In 1945 the brewery was moved to Akureyri and the name changed to Efnagerð Akureyri. In 1962 a new factory was built at Furuvellir 18, in Akureyri.

2. Kókómjólk

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Kókómjólk is a famous chocolate milk drink in Iceland made by the Mjólkursamsalan company.

This drink was formerly known for having a mascot for a female cat with purple and yellow stripes named Branda from the Icelandic word ‘bröndótt‘ for ‘brindle‘.

But now the mascot has been replaced by Klói, a muscular male cat who signals that “it will gain strength by drinking Kókómjólk“.

However, the mascot design was updated again in 2014, where Klói’s body was made slimmer.

1. Brennivín

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Brennivín is an unsweetened schnapps-like liquor that is considered a “signature” product from Iceland.

Brennivín is very popular and is usually served on special occasions, such as at the mid-winter party, Þorrablót.

The drink is made from fermented grains or mashed potatoes and flavored with caraway.

Therefore, Brennivín is often regarded as akvavite or aquavite. Brewing herbs in alcohol has long been a folk tradition in the Nordics.

So those are some of the popular drinks in Iceland. Very unique, right?

Iceland is known for having large reserves of renewable energy. So that in this case it is even included in the processing of its typical drinks.

So, what are you waiting for to try one of the original drinks from Iceland?

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