Would You Drink Whiskey Made from Disappearing Arctic Sea Ice?

As we watch the world’s icebergs slowly dissipate, we raise our glasses and drink away our sorrows.

Ironically, with spirits crafted from said icebergs.

Danish brand Isfjord has launched two single malts and a malted aquavit crafted from Greenlandic iceberg water. The distillery, which operates under the motto “Raw Smoothness,” has already crafted gin and vodka out of water harvested from the Ilulissat ice fjord, where ice has been aged up to 180,000 years. The “extremely pure and soft water” hails from icebergs that naturally break from the Greenland Ice Cap and into the sea in Ilulissat, north of the Polar Circle.

The company’s new Premium Arctic Single Malt Whisky #1 (matured in oloroso Sherry casks) and a peated Single Malt #2 are both aged between 8-9 years, while the Aquavit is a smoother Scandinavian spirit with just six weeks of aging. Each contains about 200 ml of iceberg water (out of a 700ml bottle).

As Isfjord founder Morten Kelsen recently told the trade publication The Spirits Business: “The water from the melted ice is fantastic for making spirits. It contains no [sic] pollutions or pesticides, it’s very very pure.”

The spirits are currently available across the UK and Europe, as well as through international distributors like Masters of Malt.

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Kirk Miller

Kirk Miller is InsideHook’s Senior Lifestyle Editor (and longest-serving resident). He writes a lot about whisk(e)y, cocktails, consumer goods and artificial intelligence.