Can you order a Piña Colada in Icelandic?

Apart from it being a presumably cold and icy island, close to Greenland in the Norwegian Sea, how hard is it to find a beach resort in Iceland serving Piña Coladas? 

If you go into a bar and ask politely “Má ég hafa Piña Colada vinsamlegast” – in Icelandic, a North Germanic language - the de facto official language, will you get one?  The vast majority of Icelandic speakers—about 320,000—live in Iceland. 97% of the population of Iceland considers Icelandic to be their mother tongue. 

But you could also try asking in Danish, Faroese, German, Norwegian or  Swedish.  Most Icelanders would understand you.  English and Danish are taught in school…but even with the ability to ask for a Piña Colada in all of these languages, you’d still be hard pressed to find one.

You may have better luck ordering one of these:

Brennivín.  One of the most famous Scandinavian drinks. It is a very strong alcohol, a type of Schnapps that is considered to be Iceland's signature liquor. It is made from fermented potatoes and is flavored with caraway seeds. Aka: "Black Death" Fun Trivia: The character Budd, in Kill Bill Vol. 2, drank Brennivín.

Glögg. This delicious hot drink originating from the small Finish villages in the snowy and cold mountains is very popular in the whole country. The traditional Scandinavian winter drink mixes wine and port with spices like clove, cardamom and cinnamon to make for a brew that smells like 'winter'!

Jólaglögg. According to its name deriving from the Icelandic word jóla meaning 'Christmas', this traditional Scandinavian hot Icelandic Mulled Wine is mostly consumed at major holidays, especially in the winter. 

Kúmenkaffi.  Iceland is a coffee-drinking nation, the people really enjoy their local specialty. One of the national drinks is caraway coffee, kúmenkaffi, with a characteristic strong spicy aroma and tart flavor. It is ideally served with a splash of brennivín, kúmenkaffi smells spicy, tastes tart and has plenty of caffeine.

While a Piña Colada  might be found, a nice warm drink might be the better choice on this island. But if you really want cold and refreshing...a Nohito might be the a reasonable substitute to the Piña Colada ...as shown in the photo, it's made with Brennivín, of course.

Oh, and when you are finish, you can try this funny Icelandic expression: Ég borga bara með reiðufé

Literally, it means: I only pay with an angry sheep! (I’ll pay in cash!)

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