Brennivín Jólín 2014 Christmas Aquavit
Reykjavík, Höfuðborgarsvæði, Iceland
- ABV
- 40%
- Base spirit
- Grain (unspecified)
- Color
- Pale Gold
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Aquavit, Christmas Edition
- Maturation
- 6 months in Ex-Sherry cask + Ex-Bourbon cask American oak
Brennivín Jólín 2014
, also presented as The Real Christmas Spirit, is a limited Christmas-edition Icelandic aquavit released under the Brennivín brand. The spirit was matured for six months in two separate parcels, one in used sherry casks and the other in used bourbon casks, before the components were blended together and bottled at 40% ABV in a 700 ml format.
The 2014 release was produced in a run of 1,000 bottles for the Icelandic market. Contemporary reporting describes it as a 50/50 blend of two separately matured components: one aged in used bourbon barrels and the other in used sherry barrels, both made from American white oak.
The release marked a shift in Brennivín’s Christmas editions from flavored seasonal variants toward barrel-aged expressions. Earlier Christmas bottlings had included flavored versions, while Jólabrennivín 2014 was the first new barrel-aged Christmas release developed under Valgeir Valgeirsson’s product work on the Brennivín brand. It sold out quickly in Iceland and became the basis for the following year’s Christmas release.
Bottle gallery
About the producer
Kveldúlfur Distillery
Reykjavík, Höfuðborgarsvæði, Iceland
Kveldúlfur Distillery is the current producer of Brennivín and operates within the Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson group. Vínbúðin identifies Kveldúlfur Distillery as the producer of the standard 40% Brennivín, while Ölgerðin is listed separately as supplier and owns the Brennivín brand.
Kveldúlfur Distillery is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ölgerðin. Ölgerðin’s financial statements list Kveldúlfur Distillery ehf. among the companies owned 100% by the group, alongside Borg Brugghús and several other beverage businesses.
The wider Ölgerðin business was founded in Reykjavík in 1913 by Tómas Tómasson and developed from a small brewery into Iceland’s largest producer of alcoholic beverages. Today the group owns a number of major Icelandic drinks brands, including Brennivín, Gull and Boli, while Kveldúlfur functions as the distilling entity associated with Brennivín production.
The relationship between Brennivín and Ölgerðin is therefore more recent than the spirit itself. Brennivín originated as a state-produced spirit in 1935; after ÁTVR ended alcohol production in 1992, production moved into private hands. The current structure places production with Kveldúlfur Distillery and brand ownership and distribution with Ölgerðin.
Ölgerðin also manages Brennivín as an international brand. Company filings state that the Brennivín word and figurative marks are registered in the European Union and the United Kingdom, while the Brennivín word mark is also registered in Canada.
