Reyka Vodka

Product of: Iceland

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William Grant & Sons constructed Iceland's first and only distillery in the small fishing village of Borgarnes, on the island's west coast. Operated in partnership with Egils, a local company with a bottling facility on the same site, the Reyka Distillery launched this vodka in September 2005.

Reyka is powered by environmentally friendly geothermal energy and the name derives from the old Icelandic word for 'steam'. The vodka is made from barley grain spirit (imported to the island – not so environmentally friendly) using a replica Carter-Head still built specially by coppersmiths Forsyth's of Rothes, Scotland. The distillate, which is produced in batches of 2,800 litres, is passed through lava rock which has a filtering effect.

Reyka Vodka is hydrated with spring water direct from the Grábrók Spring, which is located under a 4,000 year old lava field near the distillery. The water is so low in minerals that it does not require demineralising treatment before blending with the spirit.

Reyka is packaged in a heavy-based glass bottle with a cork stopper. The original label featured Mt. Hekla, an Icelandic volcano which erupted in 1845, spreading volcanic ash as far as Scotland, then again on 29-March 1947 when the activity lasted for over a year ending in April 1948. Its last eruption on 26-February 2000 was not so noteworthy.

However, many will remember the April 2010 eruptions of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull, which caused air travel disruption and closed the airspace of some 20 Western European countries due to the ash escaping into the atmosphere. It is not surprising that the new 2012 label, with its stamp-like perforated edges, features illustrations from the distillation process rather than a troublesome Icelandic volcano.

Review and Tasting

Sampled on 09/01/2014

Appearance:

Crystal clear.

Aroma:

Faint aniseed and light cracked black pepper spice with faint creamy, almost dairy-like note.

Taste:

Superbly clean, slightly sweet with subtle aniseed and fennel, faint cream-of-soda vanilla and light peppery spice.

Aftertaste:

Lingering subtle aniseed and red pepper spice.