--- description: Icelandair says an employee did not understand what the word meant title: Hotel Apologizes for 'Apartheid' Cocktail image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hotel Apologizes for 'Apartheid' Cocktail by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 19, 2014 7:34 PM CUT by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 19, 2014 7:34 PM CUT Words: sometimes they’re just so hard. A Reykjavik hotel owned by Icelandair has apologized for offering a cocktail called “Apartheid” on its bar menu, saying an employee was “unaware of its meaning.” > [](https://twitter.com/AfricasaCountry/status/545944117629689856) To make matters worse, when someone shared an image of the Hotel Reykjavik Marina’s menu on Twitter, Icelandair at first [responded](https://twitter.com/Icelandair/status/545954496988602368 "undefined"), “Simply scrumptious, enjoy! Happy Holidays.” The company later [apologized](https://twitter.com/Icelandair/status/545974253511000066 "undefined") and [explained](https://twitter.com/Icelandair/status/545976695954870272 "undefined") the mix-up: “\[The staffer\] thought the word just meant separation and did not understand the connotation and historical significance.” For the record, “separation” apparently tastes like vodka, stout liqueur, cream and roasted hazelnuts. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3642421/apartheid-cocktail/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3642421/apartheid-cocktail/"},"headline":"Hotel Apologizes for 'Apartheid' Cocktail","datePublished":"2014-12-19T19:34:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:15:29.652Z","description":"Icelandair says an employee did not understand what the word meant","url":"https://time.com/3642421/apartheid-cocktail/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Drink","Iceland"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3642421/apartheid-cocktail/","name":"Hotel Apologizes for 'Apartheid' Cocktail"}}]}] ```