Looking For Brennivín Recipes?

The wait is over!!! You can now get Black Death in America!

No. I don't mean this Black Death. I'm talking about Brennivín. 

photo via Brennivín American 

You may remember I posted a few weeks back that Brennivín would soon be available in the United States. Well...you need to wait no longer, my fellow Icelandophiles and aquavit-lovers. It was recently announced by Brennivín America that Brooklyn based DrinkUpNY will be selling Brennivín domestically. 

In support of their stocking of Brennivín, DrinkUpNY recently posted on their blog, "Exploring Brennivín - The Icelandic Aquavit", recounting a brief history of the Icelandic aquavit along with a few recipes using the drink. If you'd like to buy some Brennivín from DrinkUpNY, you can do so here

I figured there had to be more recipes than that so I went looking through the interwebs for more ways to consume the caraway-flavored elixir and came up with the recipes below. 

COCKTAIL RECIPES

Northern Lights

• 1 part Brennivín
• 1/2 part Amaretto
• 1 part grapefruit juice
• splash of soda water
• garnish with an orange slice

via DrinkUpNY

Katla

• 1 part Brennivín
• 1/2 part Kahlua or other coffee liquor
• squeeze of lemon
• soda water

via DrinkUpNY

Geir

• 2 oz. Brennivín
• 1 oz. Kahlua liqueur
• Half-and-half

In a rocks glass, add brennivín and Kahlua over ice. Top with half-and-half, stir and serve. 

Nohito via The Grapevine.is

via TheAwl.com

B & T

• Use Brennivín as in a gin & tonic but garnish with lime wedge and dill sprig

via DrinkUpNY

Nohito

• 1 part Brennivín
• 1.5 parts Martini Bianco, 
• 1/2 part dark rum
• slice of lemon
• slice of lime
• Dash of Bols Peppermint
• Top off with 3 parts ginger ale

via The Reykjavik Grapevine

Mountain King

• 2 parts Brennivín
• 4 parts Mysa (whey produced during Icelandic yogurt production. A recipe for homemade Skyr is available here)
• Mountain Dew

via The Reykjavik Grapevine

1972

• 1 Can Coca-Cola, rested on a radiator until extremely warm 
• Combine with three shots of Brennivín

via The Reykjavik Grapevine

Eskimojito (From the Seafood Cellar Reykjavík)

• Muddled together in a long drink glass:
• 8 leaves of fresh mint 
• 3 wedges of fresh lime 
• 2 wedges of fresh green apple 
• Then add: 
• 2 cl. vanilla syrup (50/50 sugar and water with seeds from 2 vanilla pods per liter) 
• 2 cl. green apple pourée 
• 5 cl. Icelandic Brennivín 
• Then fill the glass with crushed ice and top it up with sparkling water. Decorate with the top of a mint branch.

(FYI... 2 cl = 2/3 fluid oz)
via Weinquelle

The Iceberg

• (Makes 2 cocktails) 
• Pulverize 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds in a mortar
• In a pitcher, stir
• 4 oz Brennivín
• 2 oz dry vermouth
• 2 Tbl fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbl wildflower honey, until honey dissolves
• Add 1/2 cup of ice, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces, and stir
• Strain into two cocktail glasses, add heaping tablespoon of ice to each glass and float a few pinches of caraway seeds on top

via The New York Times

Midnight Sun

(makes 1 cocktail)

• 2.5 oz Brennivín 
• 1 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
• .75 oz Donn’s Mix #2 (see below)
• Juice of half a lime
• 8 cardamom pods
• 1 slice lime (for garnish)

photo via Steak For Dinner

Pour the aquavit, St. Germain, Donn’s Mix, and lime juice over the cardamom pods in a pint mixing glass. Muddle the ingredients together for a couple of minutes, really working to break down the cardamom pods. Add ice and shake for a few seconds. Strain into an old fashioned glass over ice and garnish with a slice of lime.

DONN’S MIX #2
RECIPE (makes about 1.5 cups):

• 5 cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces
• 1 cup grapefruit juice
• 3/4 cup sugar

In a small pot, mix the sugar and 1/2 cup water and add the cinnamon. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, ensuring all of the sugar dissolves. Let simmer for 30 minutes and take off heat. Let the syrup cool and then mix it together with the grapefruit juice. 

via Steak for Dinner

Caraway Coffee

• Pinch of caraway seeds
• Coffee
• Brennivín to taste
• Add caraway seeds to pre-ground coffee or grind with fresh coffee beans. Brew the coffee and add Brennivín to taste.

via Jo's Icelandic Recipes

In addition to cocktails, Brennivín can be used in cooking such as for curing fish and other recipes that call for schnapps or a caraway flavor. 

Of course, you can also drink it how nature intended... as a chaser after eating Hákarl.

Has anyone tried any of these? What did you think? Do you have any ideas for ways to drink/use Brennivín? Let me know in the comments.

Further Reading
Drinking The Black Death - Vice.com

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Black Death || Brennivín or What You Drink With Fermented Shark

Schnapps - Every country has their own take on it but none are, arguably, as notorious as Iceland's Brennivín aka Black Death. It is the drink that is traditionally served cold and used as a chaswer after eating Hákarl, or fermented shark.

Brennivín has only been available to people visiting Iceland and or to those lucky enough to have friends bring it back in suitcases from Duty-Free.

That's soon all about to change...

A new American importer, Brennivín America is about to supply locations all over the country.

Via it's twitter feed, @BrennivinUSA, they have confirmed that DrinkUpNY in Park Slope will be stocking it.

I'll keep you updated on any new locations.

Looking for The Most Expensive Coffee in New York City?

UPDATE: The once $7 Licorice Latte is now... $10.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Self, Where can I get some nordic-sourced coffee in New York City?" Ask no longer! 

Bú∂in(Budin) in Greenpoint can now satisfy all your coffee needs. Always on the menu are coffees roasted in Norway and Sweden with a rotating menu sourced from Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland.

It's only been in business for two weeks but it's already making waves in the New York scene; it was just included in Zagat's list of "8 Hottest Coffeeshops in NYC." It also appears to have topped another list - Most expensive latte in New York City - with a price tag of $7

Coffee won't be the only thing you can get at Bú∂in. Judging by the still-in-progress website, Budin will also offer Beer and Liquor. Will Brennívin or Einstök soon be passing the lips of Greenpointers? Let's hope so. 

Keep up with them via Facebook, Twitter (@BudinNYC), Instagram (Budinnyc)

Have you tasted the coffee yet? Let me know in comments what you think? Is it worth $7  $10?

Bú∂in

114 Greenpoint Ave

Brooklyn, New York 11222

Hours

Mon - Fri || 7am - 8pm

Sat - Sun || 8am - 8pm

For further reading:
"Take A Chance On Me: Budin Brings Scandanavian Coffee to NYC" on Sprudge.com 
and NordicCoffeeCulture.com.