Reyka

Reyka at a Glance

Reyka has 1 distinct product with 8 total TTB label approvals, including Vodka 80-89 Proof. Labels approved between 2020-03-03 and 2025-12-11. Label origins on file: Iceland.

At a Glance data sourced from public TTB records.

Reyka Vodka: Iceland's First Distillery and a Gin Still Turned to Vodka

William Grant & Sons constructed a distillery in the fishing village of Borgarnes on Iceland's west coast, and the Reyka Distillery launched Reyka Vodka in September 2005, Difford's Guide says. Reyka launched in Iceland, the USA, and the UK, made in small batches, the Moodie Davitt Report said that October.

The 2005 launch and the Mount Hekla bottle

The distillery is operated in partnership with Egils, a local company with a bottling facility on the same site, the guide adds. William Grant & Sons showed the new vodka at that October's TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes, the Moodie Davitt Report said. Elwyn Gladstone, then New Brand Development Director at William Grant & Sons, called the distillery location, the Carter-Head still, and Iceland's natural resources "a highly innovative approach".

The launch bottle was heavy-based glass with a paper label and cork stopper, and the label showed Mount Hekla, the volcano whose 1845 eruption spread ash as far as Scotland, the report said. A new 2012 label with stamp-like perforated edges shows illustrations from the distillation process instead of a volcano, Difford's Guide says.

From a few states to a national brand

By May 2007 the company had put Reyka out a few states at a time and called it a national brand, Gladstone told MediaPost. MediaPost was covering the brand's first online ad campaign, which featured Icelandic actress and music star Hafdis Huld.

The Carter-Head still behind Reyka

The Carter-Head still is often used in gin production but had never before been used for vodka, William Grant & Sons said at launch. Reyka's still is an exact replica of the 19th century original, built by coppersmith Forsyth's of Rothes, the company added. The vodka is made from barley grain spirit imported to the island and produced in batches of 2,800 litres, and the name derives from the old Icelandic word for steam, Difford's Guide says. The brand's own website gives a different measure of a batch: each distillation takes about 5 hours and makes only 330 cases.

Spring water and lava rock

Water comes from the Grábrók Spring in a 4,000-year-old lava field surrounding the distillery, and it is so low in minerals that it needs no industrialised treatment before blending, the company said in 2005. Filtration runs in two stages: pillow lava loaded into the botanics basket at the top of the still, then a basket of more porous basalt lava as the spirit runs off. The company called this the first use of lava rock in spirit filtration. Explore the TTB label data for Reyka on this page.

Sources

• Difford's Guide. “Reyka Vodka.” Undated (tasting dated 9 January 2014). https://www.diffordsguide.com/beer-wine-spirits/2276/reyka-vodka
• The Moodie Davitt Report. “William Grant to showcase Reyka Vodka from Iceland's first ever distillery - 10/10/05.” 9 October 2005. https://moodiedavittreport.com/?p=344285
• MediaPost. “Grant & Sons Launches Online Campaign For Icelandic Vodka Rekya.” 4 May 2007. https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/59800
• Reyka Vodka (reykavodka.com), Our Story page. “Reyka Vodka.” Undated. https://www.reykavodka.com/our-story
• TTB Public COLA Registry via BUY.VODKA data snapshot (src/data/labels.json, local build 16 October 2026). “Reyka” label approvals. Local read-only query, 16 October 2026.

Produced At

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Related Questions

• Where is Reyka vodka made?
• Who makes Reyka vodka and who owns the brand?
• What proof is Reyka vodka?

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