Every Swedish Christmas table has a dark, fizzy bottle on it, and it is not cola. Here is what julmust is, when you can buy it, and the other soft-drink rules that surprise visitors in a Swedish supermarket.
When you need this
- You are in Sweden between November and Christmas, or at Easter
- A dark “must” is poured at a julbord (Christmas buffet) and you wonder what it is
- You want to know whether julmust contains alcohol
- You are buying drinks for children or teenagers, energy drinks included
- There is a deposit on your receipt and you don’t know why
- You need to tell a soft drink from a supermarket beer
What julmust is
Julmust combines jul (Christmas) and must, an old word for the juice of fruit or berries. It is a dark, sweet, carbonated soft drink, and Visit Sweden’s view is that no julbord is complete without it. In a 2025 survey for the brewers’ trade association, 89% of Swedes said they associate Christmas with julmust, far ahead of glögg and beer.
The drink dates from 1910. Harry Roberts, a chemist from Örebro who had studied in Germany, started a small business there with his father and launched it that year as a “Christmas beer”. The recipe of the essence is still secret; the known ingredients include malt, hops, fruit, berries and orange oil. The family’s Örebro factory still makes the extract that nearly all Swedish breweries use, which is why musts from different brewers taste similar but not identical.
So don’t expect a cola. The flavor comes from that malt, hop and fruit essence. Many breweries also sell barrel-aged versions, and flavors like orange and cardamom have appeared in recent years.
When you can buy it
Julmust is a seasonal drink. About 50 million liters are sold each year, and in the brewers’ 2023 figures about 60% of all must was sold in December.
| Period | What you’ll find |
|---|---|
| October | Brewers report the first sales |
| 24 November | Julmustens dag, the brewers’ own marker for the season start, since 2025 |
| December | Peak: the bulk of the year’s must is sold |
| Easter | The same drink returns as påskmust |
| Rest of the year | Hard to find; ordinary soft drinks only |
If you want a bottle to take home as a souvenir, buy it in December. Don’t count on finding one in July.
Påskmust: the same drink at Easter
Påskmust is the Easter name for the same dark soft drink, made from the same essence, with only the label changed. Isof, the state folklore institute, records it on the Easter table. If you missed julmust at Christmas, try påskmust at Easter. See our guide to Easter in Sweden for the rest of the Easter table.
Is julmust alcohol-free?
Yes, legally. Swedish law treats any drink of at most 2.25% alcohol as a lättdryck (light drink), outside the alcohol rules, and a drink labeled “alcohol-free” has 0.5% or less. The flavoring leaves about 0.3% alcohol in finished julmust, so it is sold to anyone in any supermarket.
That trace is irrelevant to most people. It matters if you avoid alcohol completely for religious or medical reasons, so you should know it is there. Our halal guide to Sweden covers the question in more detail.
Sockerdricka, the old Swedish soda
Sockerdricka means “sugar drink”. In the early 1800s it was brewed: sugar water was fermented under pressure with ginger and hops. From the second half of the 1800s it was made the modern way, by mixing flavorings with carbonated water. Today it is an everyday soft drink, and the traditional mixer for silvergrogg, a highball of Swedish schnapps and sockerdricka.
Sugar-free drinks are no longer niche. They now make up the majority of Swedish soft-drink sales, and sugar-free julmust is the part of the must market that is growing.
The deposit on every can and bottle
Cans and plastic bottles with the Swedish deposit mark carry pant, a refundable deposit added to the price at the till. The amount depends on the container type and size (see the table under Practical information); julmust traditionally comes in large plastic bottles, which carry the higher deposit.
Return empties to the deposit machine at a supermarket and redeem the voucher at the checkout. Containers bought abroad have no Swedish mark and are outside the system. The full process is in our guide to pant and bottle deposits.
Energy drinks: a voluntary age limit
Many visitors assume Sweden has a legal age limit on energy drinks. It does not. Since 2009, grocery retailers have had an industry agreement not to sell energy drinks to anyone under 15. The Swedish Food Agency, Livsmedelsverket, calls these the industry’s voluntary age limits. How strictly they are applied depends on the store, and a self-checkout may pause for a staff age check (see self-checkout in Sweden).
In 2026 Livsmedelsverket published new caffeine advice for young people:
| Who | Advice |
|---|---|
| Children under 6 | No caffeine at all |
| Under-16s | At most 70 mg of caffeine a day |
| 70 mg is roughly | 125–220 ml of energy drink, a small cup of brewed coffee, or two 33 cl cans of cola |
Depending on its strength, a third of a can of energy drink is enough to reach 70 mg. Too much causes sleep problems, palpitations and restlessness. The agency also warns adults not to mix energy drinks with alcohol, because the caffeine can make you less aware of how drunk you are. The trade definition of an energy drink is a sweetened soft drink with more than 15 mg of caffeine per 100 ml and/or other stimulants such as guarana or taurine.
No sugar tax
Sweden has no tax on sugar or soft drinks. The Swedish Tax Agency’s full list of excise taxes covers alcohol, tobacco, nicotine, energy and others, but nothing on sugar or soft drinks. Soft drinks are taxed as food, at the temporarily reduced food VAT rate shown in the table below.
Instead of a tax, sugar reduction is voluntary. Members of the brewers’ association have committed to cutting the total sugar in soft drinks by 40% by 2030, compared with 2019, and report a 28% cut so far.
Folköl is not a soft drink
The beer on the same supermarket aisle can look like just another can. Folköl is beer from above 2.25% up to 3.5% alcohol. It is an alcoholic drink, sold only to people aged 18 or over, and a driver who drinks it is drinking alcohol. Read the percentage on the can. Our folköl guide explains the strength ladder, and drinking in Sweden covers the rest of the alcohol rules.
Mistakes to avoid
- Expecting julmust to taste like cola
- Looking for julmust in summer
- Throwing away cans and bottles that carry a deposit
- Believing the energy-drink age limit is law
- Buying folköl thinking it is a light soft drink
Practical information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Deposit, cans and plastic bottles under 1 liter | 2 kr (since 1 September 2025) |
| Deposit, plastic bottles 1 liter and over | 3 kr |
| VAT on soft drinks | 6% food rate, 1 April 2026 – 31 December 2027 |
| Sugar or soft-drink tax | None |
| Energy drinks | Voluntary retail limit: not sold to under-15s |
| Caffeine advice, under-16s | At most 70 mg a day (Livsmedelsverket, 2026) |
| Folköl | Beer above 2.25% and up to 3.5%, age 18 |
| Julmust prices | Vary by store, size and campaign; not listed here |
FAQ
What is julmust?
Julmust is Sweden’s Christmas soft drink: dark, sweet, carbonated and alcohol-free, flavored with a secret essence that includes malt, hops, fruit and berries. It was launched in Örebro in 1910 and is on almost every Christmas buffet. About 50 million liters are sold each year, most of it in December, and nearly nine in ten link Christmas with it.
Does julmust contain alcohol?
Only a trace. Julmust counts as an alcohol-free soft drink, which in Sweden means 0.5% alcohol or less, and it is sold to anyone in ordinary supermarkets. The flavoring leaves about 0.3% alcohol in the finished drink. That is irrelevant for most people, but worth knowing if you avoid alcohol entirely for religious or medical reasons.
When can you buy julmust in Sweden?
Mostly in the weeks before Christmas. Brewers report sales starting as early as October, their trade association marks 24 November as the start of the julmust season, and about 60% of a year’s must is sold in December. Outside Christmas and Easter it is hard to find, so do not plan on a summer bottle.
What is the difference between julmust and påskmust?
Only the label. Påskmust is the Easter name for the same dark soft drink, made from the same essence, and it appears in shops around Easter to go with the Easter buffet. If you visit in spring and missed julmust at Christmas, påskmust is the same taste experience. Neither is sold year-round in ordinary shops.
Is there an age limit for energy drinks in Sweden?
Not in law. Since 2009 an industry agreement among grocery retailers says energy drinks should not be sold to under-15s, so shops and self-checkouts may refuse the sale or ask for ID. Separately, the Swedish Food Agency advises that under-16s have no more than 70 mg of caffeine a day, which one can may exceed.
Does Sweden have a sugar tax on soft drinks?
No. The Swedish Tax Agency’s list of excise taxes covers alcohol, tobacco, energy and others, but nothing on sugar or soft drinks, which carry the reduced food VAT rate of 6% until the end of 2027. Instead, Swedish soft-drink makers have pledged a voluntary 40% cut in total sugar by 2030, compared with 2019.
What is sockerdricka?
Sockerdricka, literally “sugar drink”, is Sweden’s traditional soda. In the early 1800s it was brewed from sugar water spiced with ginger and hops; since the late 1800s it has been made by mixing flavorings with carbonated water. Today it is an everyday soft drink and the classic mixer for silvergrogg, a Swedish highball of schnapps and sockerdricka.
Related guides
- The Swedish julbord: the Christmas buffet where julmust is poured
- Easter in Sweden: the påskmust season and the Easter table
- Pant: bottle deposits: how to get your 2–3 kr back
- Folköl: the supermarket beer that is not a soft drink
- Swedish fika: the coffee break, the other daily drink ritual
Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: Livsmedelsverket, Skatteverket, Sveriges Riksdag, Systembolaget, Returpack/Pantamera, Isof, Svenska Akademien, Stockholmskällan, Visit Örebro, Visit Sweden, Sveriges Bryggerier and Äkta vara — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.