N.L. iceberg water gets $53 per bottle at Northern Ireland's Merchant Hotel
Discerning water drinkers across the pond are spending big bucks to sip water harvested from icebergs off Newfoundland and Labrador coasts.
The five-star Merchant Hotel in Northern Ireland is now offering a water menu, starring Newfoundland and Labrador iceberg water going for about $53 CAD per 750 ml bottle.
The Merchant buys its water from a London company called Aqua Amore.
Owner Michael Tanousis says iceberg water is truly exceptional.
"It's definitely the lack of minerals … Basically it's hard to describe to listeners right now without say two glasses of water in front of them that [are] from different sources. But water is a universal solvent so it loves absorbing minerals," said Tanousis who sources the water from a Dutch company.
"Therefore the minerals it's absorbed change the character of the water … when it comes to a human's palette [it] isn't really determined is by taste, although some waters do have a distinct taste element, it's more about the texture. One water will feel viscous and creamy — most tap waters for example — and other waters will feel crisp and cool and refreshing and that's the difference between waters."
Tanousis said iceberg water, because it's so absent of minerals, really has a very strong, crisp sensation.
"You really get that drinking from a mountain-stream sensation. And it's close to purified water as you're likely to get because this is snow that fell up to 12,000 years ago. It hasn't come in contact with the earth so, therefore, it really hasn't had a chance to absorb any minerals like other spring waters world have done."
And because it's been locked in an iceberg for so many years, Tanousis said, iceberg water has escaped any human-form pollution to the atmosphere.
"So it's very unique from that respect."
Tanousis says he also supplies the Merchant with another Canadian product — water extracted from maple syrup.
