Our Favorite Nordic Vodka Brands

Distilled from certified organic wheat, this vodka is column-distilled. It is then placed in virgin white American oak for 12-48 months. After that, it is then re-distilled three times in copper pot-stills. Post-distillation, it goes through a stabilization and aeration period for 3-6 months. Finally, it is bottled without carbon or chill-filtration nor with any additives or color correcting.

Koskenkorva Vodka has been around since 1953, but it only launched in the US in 2017. It is a vodka made via continuous distillation from Finnish barley sourced within 120 miles from the distillery. Local spring water is used in its production. Named after the village where it is made.

Finlandia first hit the market in 1970, the first Scandinavian vodka in the US. It is distilled from six-row barley and uses glacial spring water to bring it to proof. The vodka is not filtered.

Elyx is made from 100% single-estate winter wheat sourced from the Råbelöf Castle near Åhus where Absolut is made. It is distilled in a single column-still made entirely of copper. First launched in select markets in 2011, was released in the US in 2013. "Lyx" is the Swedish word for "luxury".

This vodka is made from a variety of "virgin new potatoes" from Cape Bjäre, Sweden — potatoes picked early in the season when the skin has just started to form. These varieties include solist, gammel svensk röd, princess, sankta thora, hamlet, marine and celine. Each varietal is distilled once through a copper-lined continuous still and then the separate distillates are blended together without charcoal-filtering.

FRÏS Vodka is pronounced “frees” and its name is meant to evoke the brand's unique and patented Freeze Filtered Process. The details of this procedure are not readily defined but the brand does boast a pure wheat base. Distilled in Denmark and blended with purified water before bottling at 80 proof.

Purity is made from organic barley and winter wheat. What they make at their distillery in Sweden is the heart of the vodka. There they use a 600-liter copper pot-still which is attached to two column stills, each with eight plates. The mash of winter wheat and barley is distilled through twice creating a spirit which doesn't need filtration. This is blended with an organic column-distilled wheat distillate and two types of water: de-ionized water and mineral-rich water. Bottled at 40% ABV, this vodka is certified organic in the US and the EU.

Reyka's distillery is located in the town of Bogarnes on the west coast of Iceland. Barley grain spirit (barley and some wheat) is brought to them from Scotland where it is redistilled in a single distillation in a copper-lined Carter-Head still. Each batch produces about 255 cases and takes six hours to complete. The vodka is filtered through lava rock and the water used to bring the vodka to proof is arctic spring water. The distillery is powered by geothermal energy from underground volcanoes and as a result, produces zero emissions.

Absolut is produced in the town of Åhus in Sweden from locally-grown winter wheat. First introduced to the US in 1979, its iconic apothecary bottle is recognizable around the world. Absolut was first introduced in 1879 as Absolut Rent Brännvin (absolutely pure vodka) by Lars Olsson Smith. It is he who adorns the silver medallion on each bottle.