Brennivín Jólín 2015 Christmas Aquavit
Reykjavík, Höfuðborgarsvæði, Iceland
- ABV
- 40%
- Base spirit
- Grain (unspecified)
- Color
- Pale Gold
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Aquavit, Christmas Edition
Brennivín Jólín 2015, also presented as The Real Christmas Spirit, is a limited Christmas-edition Icelandic aquavit released under the Brennivín brand. The 2015 expression was developed from the previous year’s barrel-aged Christmas Brennivín, with components matured in sherry and bourbon casks and then blended together. For 2015, the producers also added a smaller portion matured in previously unused (‘fresh’) barrels that had been charred for bourbon maturation, giving the blend an additional cask influence.
The bottle is marked “Jólín 2015” and “Sherry & Bourbon Cask Aquavit” and was sold in Iceland at 40% ABV in a 700 ml format. Vínbúðin’s 2015 sales records list Brennivín Jólín 2015 under product no. 10813; 563 bottles were sold that year, corresponding to 394.1 litres.
Contemporary reporting states that, as in 2014, Brennivín was matured separately in sherry and bourbon casks and then blended. For the 2015 release, a small additional portion matured in newly charred, previously unused casks was also incorporated into the final blend. Valgeir Valgeirsson, who was leading product development for Brennivín at the time, described this addition as giving the blend a warmer, sharper character.
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.
