In 847 AD, Hrafna-Floki set out to find an island whose existence had previously only been rumored. After a long and arduous journey, the Viking set foot on the new land and named it: Iceland. Over 1,000 years later, the island, characterized by natural wonders and breathtaking landscapes, received its first whisky distillery, Eimverk.
The makers of Iceland's first single malt whisky named it after the Viking "Floki" - inspired by his determination and courage to do things that no one had done before. Eimverk is the first whisky distillery in Iceland. It was founded in 2009 with the aim of producing Icelandic premium spirits from locally grown barley. The particularly robust Icelandic grain contains little starch, which is why around 50 percent more barley has to be used per bottle of whisky than with other types of barley.
The family-run distillery dedicated the first four years to developing its recipes. For the whisky alone, 163 test distillations were carried out before production began. While Iceland's first whisky was stored in barrels, the Eimverk Distillery was already causing a stir with other spirits. They all have one thing in common: they are handmade and made from 100 percent Icelandic organic barley.
The VOR Gin and the Aquavit VITI were both awarded the gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The Young Malts have so far provided a foretaste of "Floki" and are available as smoky and non-smoky bottlings. The latter is particularly special: Since there is no peat in Iceland, it is traditionally smoked with sheep dung - as is the malt in the Young Malt "Sheep dung smoked Reserve".