Reyka Vodka 700ml

Reyka Vodka is an Icelandic vodka made in Borgarnes, on Iceland’s west coast, at the country’s first distillery. It is distilled in a Carter-Head copper still, filtered through lava rock and bottled at 40%.

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William Grant and Sons, the family-owned Scottish spirits company, opened the Reyka distillery in 2005. The base is a barley grain spirit brought to Iceland, which is then redistilled in a Carter-Head still built by Forsyth’s of Rothes in Scotland. Carter-Head stills are more often linked with gin, where botanicals sit in a basket the vapour passes through. Reyka swaps the botanicals for porous Icelandic lava rock, which acts as a natural filter for the spirit.

The water comes from the Grábrók spring, which runs beneath a lava field around 4,000 years old near the distillery. It is naturally low in minerals, so it can be used to bring the vodka down to bottling strength without demineralising.

The result is a clean, crisp vodka with a little sweetness and gentle pepper and a soft finish, suited to drinkers who like to know exactly where their vodka comes from. It suits a well-chilled Martini, where its clean profile stands out, as well as a vodka soda with a squeeze of lime, a Moscow Mule or a Bloody Mary. Serve it alongside smoked salmon, oysters, gravlax or other seafood. Keep a bottle in the freezer for neat, ice-cold pours; a 700ml bottle gives about 23 standard nips.