Fancy tasting some authentic Icelandic Whisky at the Eimverk Distillery?

Now, this travel-blog of mine is a bit different from my other travel-blogs at Guide to Iceland, where I focus on interesting sights to visit in Iceland and our history.

But I am now going to introduce to you a genuine Icelandic product; the first and only whisky distillery in Iceland producing whisky from 100% Icelandic barley; Eimverk Distillery. They call their product Flóki whisky - From Grain to Glass.

Top photo: The guide Rökkvi introducing Flóki whisky to us

Eimverk distillery 

Eimverk Distillery offers daily guided tours of their factory at 14:00, 16:00 and 18:00 - weekends at 16:00 and 18:00; with a lot of sampling. 

I was invited on my first whisky tour of Eimverk Distillery with my husband, as our good friend is a guide at the distillery.

You may remember him from my travel-blog Stand-up Comedy in Iceland - the Comedy Club & the Golden Gang - Come Talk Funny - a Show in English. See my top photo.

They needed an additional guide so we went to check it out.

From my 3rd guided tour of Eimverk distillery

Eimverk is a family-run distillery, founded in 2009. It took the family 4 years and 163 trial distillations to perfect their whisky.

So it was only in 2015 that the first batches of Icelandic whisky were ready for the market; the Flóki Young Malt.

In 2024 I was invited to Bjálmholt farm upcountry in South Iceland. It was an Eimverk staff outing, but Bjálmholt is the grain farm for Flóki whisky.

There you will find the rye fields but the barley fields are at Gunnarsholt and another farm close by. We got to taste whisky from the first batch.

Tasting whisky at Bjálmholt from the first batch

In Scotland, they have around a 400-year-old history of whisky making, and Iceland has got 15 years of experience now :)

I have been on many excellent whisky distillery tours in Scotland, including 3 tours on a staff outing with Eimverk (I don't work there, but I joined my husband).

Eimverk Distillery is Iceland's only whisky distillery, but they also make distilled gin and brennivín (aquavit) from local ingredients.

You will meet the guide at Eimverk Distillery and get a taste of their fine spirits (10+ samples).

Icelandic barley  - From Grain to Glass

Then you will be shown around the distillery and get acquainted with the techniques and the range of types of equipment, beginning with the dried barley itself. 

In the distillery, you will be guided through every step of the distillation process.

Take into account that the reason why our history with whisky is so young is that we couldn't grow barley in Iceland from the 13th century when a cold period started in Iceland.

My husband gave us a guided tour of the whisky distillery

The Vikings grew barley from the Settlement of Iceland until the 13th century, but it wasn't until around 35 years ago that we were able to start growing barley again when it started getting warmer in Iceland.

Icelandic barley is different from other barley. Because of how cold our summers are it grows a bit slower, which makes the husk thicker and gives it more taste.

It is lower in starch and sugar compared to the barley grown in Norway or Sweden, so we get less alcohol per batch, but a more earthy taste.

This is how much you will get to sample x 10

After the tour of the brewery, it was time to sample more of their spirits! 

Be ready to taste some 10+ spirit samples, all in all, one of which is Navy Strength Gin (57%) - and have the number for a local taxi ready to drive you back ;)

You will be introduced to and offered to taste the premium pot-boiled gin called Vor, the Icelandic whisky Flóki, and the herb-infused Víti (Hell) which is an Icelandic brennivín.

There are now many variations of Flóki whisky and Vor distilled gin

The whisky has different flavours depending on how long it has been in the barrels.

The gin Vor (Spring) received a double gold prize in 2014 at the San Fransisco World Spirits competition, so it is well worth tasting.

And, the aquavit Víti (Hell) got a gold prize in 2015 in the same competition, so Eimverk was off to a good start and becoming recognized in the world of spirits.

In the Eimverk Distillery

I wrote this travel-blog after my first spirit-tasting ever and the guide showed us how to roll the whisky in our glass to check out its transparency and colour.

I must confess that I never saw any difference in transparency, but that is because I am a total amateur ;) Connoisseurs would for sure spot the difference.

I tasted the gin and brennivín and it was very good, much better than our traditional Icelandic brennivín in my opinion. I put it down to the Icelandic herbs which are different from those in our traditional brennivín.

Flóki whisky

Eimverk introduced the Flóki Single Malt sheep dung smoked whisky, in 2019.

Sheep dung smoked whisky has been described to me by a connoisseur as being so strong that you should only drink it after having had a couple of drinks of other whisky before you drink that one. And that it burns in the throat after drinking it.

But then his brother came along and took a sip and said it was very good whisky and that he liked it a lot :) So you have to try it and find out for yourself!

The sheep dung smoked whisky is my favourite now ;)

In 2023 we got to taste 11 different types of spirit

On the many occasions that I have joined a distillery tour, there were around 12-15 people. On several occasions during the spirit tasting, people were knocking on the door asking if they could buy Icelandic whisky.

But seeing that in Iceland there is a state monopoly on selling alcohol, then until September 2022 the bottles could only be bought in Vínbúðin, our state-run liquor store.

But you can also buy the Eimverk products at the Duty-free at Keflavík international airport.

New legislation in September 2022 finally allowed Eimverk and other distilleries to sell their bottles and cans on-site.

The Eimverk sign

Eimverk used to be a hidden secret, but the secret is out and the whisky tasting has become a very popular activity, so guided tours are offered every day.

I only ever heard about Eimverk and this guided tour in 2019 - I don't know how I missed visiting them.

Most Icelanders I have talked to regarding this didn't know that Icelandic whisky was produced in our country. It is a shame as they put pride in the authenticity of their products and only use Icelandic grain and herbs in their drinks - they call it from Grain to glass.

My husband, Jón, is now working for Eimverk

You can book a tour of the distillery here on Guide to Iceland:

Eimverk Distillery Tour | Taste Icelandic Whisky, Gin & Brennivin

And on their website Flóki Icelandic Whisky where you will get much more information about Eimverk.

With my husband on my mother-in-law at Eimverk on Valentine's day 2023

Here is the location of Eimverk distillery in Garðabær.

So this unusual travel-blog of mine, even though I write in English, is also aimed at my countrymen, and not only an introduction for our foreign visitors :) 

The Eimverk Distillery is located at Lyngás 13 in Garðabær town, which is a part of the Great-Reykjavík area, approximately 10-15 minutes drive away from Reykjavík's city centre. Have fun :)