Víti Brennivín Winter Reserve Aquavit
Garðabær, Höfuðborgarsvæði, Iceland
- ABV
- 47%
- Base spirit
- Barley
- Color
- Gold
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Aquavit
- Maturation
- 1 year 1 month in New american oak cask
Víti Brennivín Winter Reserve Icelandic Schnapps is a limited barrel-aged Icelandic aquavit produced by Eimverk Distillery in Garðabær. Made from 100% Icelandic barley, it is triple distilled with caraway and native Icelandic botanicals. The expression is matured in American oak barrels for a minimum of 12 months, with a documented bottling specifying 13 months of maturation.
The spirit is bottled at 47% ABV in a 250 ml format. The front label identifies it as Víti Brennivín Winter Reserve Icelandic Schnapps and states “100% Icelandic Barley” and “Distilled from grain & caraway seeds.” The rear label describes the release as a small-batch Icelandic schnapps made from local barley and native Icelandic botanicals and confirms that it was triple distilled, aged for 13 months, and distilled and bottled by Eimverk Distillery in Garðabær.
Winter Reserve is the barrel-aged counterpart to standard Víti and is released in numbered batches and bottles. The spirit is golden in color, with the barrel maturation giving it a visibly different character from the clear standard expression. Current Vínbúðin records list it as an aquavit under product no. 27007, and the product remains part of Eimverk’s range.
Bottle gallery
About the producer
Eimverk Distillery
Garðabær, Höfuðborgarsvæði, Iceland
Eimverk Distillery is a family-run Icelandic distillery based in Garðabær. Its origins date to 2009, when members of the Þorkelsson family began experimenting with whisky made from Icelandic-grown barley. The formal company, Eimverk ehf., was established in the summer of 2011, following several years of research and product development, and its first commercial products reached the market in 2013.
The project grew from the family’s connection with grain farming in southern Iceland. Brothers Haraldur “Halli” Þorkelsson and Egill Þorkelsson were central to developing the distillery, with Egill working on distillation and Haraldur on the business side, while several other family members became involved in production, farming, quality control and international sales. The whisky recipe alone went through more than 160 experimental distillations and maturation tests before the family settled on the version that became Flóki.
Eimverk built its production around Icelandic barley and Icelandic water, using custom-made distillation equipment developed for the character of the local grain. Barley has been grown on the family farm at Bjálmholt in South Iceland as well as sourced from other Icelandic farms. The distillery subsequently developed three principal spirit families: Flóki whisky, Vor gin and Víti Brennivín, with the gin and aquavit originating from the same Icelandic barley-based spirit used in the whisky production before additional botanical distillation.
Eimverk remains an independent family operation at Lyngás 13, Garðabær. Its current range continues to center on Flóki, Vor and Víti, and the company identifies itself as Iceland’s first whisky distillery and as a producer working with 100% Icelandic barley.
