Iceland is steeped in an enchanting history, inspired by its ethereal landscape.
It’s also the birthplace of Reyka Vodka, the first vodka distilled and bottled in Iceland.
Living in a place like Iceland, a country with few trees, gives one an interesting view of the world. It’s a beautiful place, but it’s also rugged and provocative. It requires its people to live creatively and take an inventive approach. So when it comes to making vodka, Reyka followed this path.
You see, Reyka made its debut in Iceland in 2005, when William Grant and Sons set out to make the cleanest and smoothest vodka in the world. You can see it in their unique distillation method and innovative process, and you can surely taste it in the distinctive flavor of the vodka.
A product of Borganes, a small village steeped in Viking history, Reyka Vodka is handcrafted in preciously small batches in Iceland’s first vodka distillery. Hailing from a land of ice and fire, Reyka (which means “steam” in Icelandic) makes the most of Iceland’s natural resources – its distillery is powered by geo-thermal energy from local hot springs and uses using nearby glacial spring water in the distillation process.
The spring water (drawn from the nearby Grabrok spring) is so low in mineral content it requires no treatment prior to distillation!
What’s even more amazing is that the vodka is filtered through lava rocks from under the Vatnajokull glacier, Europe’s largest. This gives every drop of Reyka its smooth taste and silky finish.
And we can attest to that 😉
At the lovely Reyka Vodka dinner held at Acme Bar & Coffee at The Troika recently in conjunction with its launch, we were introduced to Reyka Vodka for the very first time and of course, a variety of different Reyka Vodka cocktails.
We also met brand ambassador Joe Petch who prepared a presentation to speedily take us through a quick history of the vodka:
Fueled by living on the edge of the Arctic Circle, Icelanders come from a tradition of self-sufficiency and making many things by hand, infusing nature and their own unique perspective in virtually everything they do. From the resourceful use of lava rock and glacier spring water, to being the only vodka in the world that uses a Carter-Head Still in distillation, Reyka Vodka is able to bring you the essence of Iceland by producing a smooth tasting vodka unlike any other.
It was also then that we learnt that Reyka’s handcrafted process takes about 6 hours to produce a small batch of only 1,000 litres of vodka, using one of the only Carter-Head Stills in the world and the only one that is used to make vodka.
Hence the “Small Batch Vodka” print on a Reyka Vodka bottle.
This precious spirit is then analysed by the Master Distiller to ensure each and every bottle retains the highest of high quality. What, you thought it was easy to perfect an award-winning vodka?
At our night of urban foraging with Reyka Vodka dinner, Joe quickly whipped up a few Reyka Vodka-based cocktails for us to pair with our meals, starting with the our welcome drink, the Reyka Tonic. Each course at dinner was paired with a different Reyka Vodka cocktail, ranging from familiar tastes (read: Martini) to interesting concoctions with names that we can’t pronounce but love.
Here’s a sneak peek at the menu:
In 2011 Reyka was awarded the Vodka Trophy at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) and in 2013, the Gold Medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and “Very good – Strong recommendation” at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge – awards well deserved, if you asked us.
We did, after all, gulp down all these cocktails, and even shameless went for seconds after:
Go on, give it a shot. Or two 😉
With a taste described as exceptionally smooth and rounded with a soft natural sweetness and a slight hint of wild fruits, Reyka Vodka is now available at Troika Sky Dining, Time Out Bistro & Pub, Jo Banana Bar & Café, The Press, and Patio bar de Tapas.
Bottled at 40% ABV, it retails for approximately RM228.
For more information, visit Rekya Vodka’s website.
