"iceland" news and stories

Skyr isn't carried in too many American stores, but the Icelandic yogurt definitely has its fans. It is thicker than conventional yogurt, largely because it is strained, much like Greek yogurt. You are most likely to be familiar with the yogurt if it is carried at your local Whole Foods, where it is packaged into small containers and flavored like conventional yogurts, with berries, vanilla, etc. Despite the generally positive reaction from consumers, Whole Foods no longer promotes the fact that they carry Skyr, or any other Icelandic products, because of the company's offical policy of dissapproval for Iceland resuming commercial whaling last year.

The average consumer, perhaps the average Skyr fan, in the US isn't aware of the whaling issue and because Whole Foods hasn't promoted it, they're not likely to - especially because Whole Foods is planning to stock more Icelandic products this spring. Whole Foods will be carrying Nói Síríus chocolate easter eggs in approximately 70 stores. To entice WF to stock the eggs, Nói Síríus seems to have offered them at almost no cost, as the marketing director of the chocolate company said "There are no profits involved, this is first and foremost a sales experiment." More will be imported next year if they prove popular. Whether Whole Foods will be promoting them now, or in future, is still unknown, though it certainly seems like it would be a good business strategy to promote the products you carry if you're going to carry them at all.

Martin Miller's Reformed London Dry Gin is 40%abv/80proof. It comes in a unusual six sided bottle with a curved back which has a map of the North Atlantic on it. I don't know what they mean by "Reformed" so I went to their website to find out, but it is down until 12/06/2006. Maybe we can find out then. The gin is distilled in a old copper pot still that has been in use for well over a century, making Miller's a single batch at a time. The botanicals are juniper, cinnamon, cassia, iris, licorice, orange peel, coriander seed, angelica seed, and nutmeg among others including one special secret ingredient that supposedly isn't even known by the master distiller. More on the secret ingredient later. The 92% alcohol gin is then shipped off to Iceland where it is cut with pure glacier fed spring water down to either 40%abd/80proof or a higher octane version called Martin Miller's Westbourne Strength Gin at 45.2%abv/90.4proof. I only tried the 80proof version.

The aroma is soft and creamy, hints of juniper, spice, and cucumber. The taste is extremely soft, smooth, and creamy with an elegant and surprising taste. Besides the normal notes of juniper, herbs and spices, and floral notes there was a strong presence of cucumber. So much so that I felt like I was lying in a cucumber patch in the summer sun and noshing on fresh picked cukes while sipping the gin. I have to think that cucumber must be the secret ingredient since I have never tasted such a strong essence of cucumber before.