Linie Aquavit Fra Norge Liqueur, 70 cl

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Found yourself at a julefrokost, staring down a shot glass, and asking yourself “What is aquavit and why does it taste like this?” You’re not alone. We’ve put together a helpful guide to aquavit in each Nordic country, including the history of aquavit, how it’s made, and how to drink it: What is Aquavit? Aquavit was first recorded 1531. In a letter was sent from the Danish Lord Eske Bille ofBergenhuscastle, tothe Norwegian bishop Olav Engelbrektsson.With the letter, Bille sent a spiced liquor that he promised would cure any illness known to man.

For instance, akvavit from the harsh northern part of the country is often produced from potatoes and is often barrel-aged. In terms of aromas, it’s particularly spicy and will usually be made using caraway, fennel, dried spices and herbs.While Danish and Swedish brands are typically light in colour, some even clear, most Norwegian brands are matured in oak casks. After the distillation process, it is flavoured with herbs and spices, in the same way that gin is flavoured with juniper. Common additions are caraway, dill, cardamom, cumin, anise, fennel, and lemon or orange peel. Photo by Allagash Brewing (CC 2.0) In the early days. 15th century early days. Aqua vitae (Water of Life) as mentioned above, was a basic distilled spirit where most of today’s spirits originate from, including Gin and whisky. Almost every country had a version of Aqua vitae in some form or another. California and Minnesota each have several producers and brands; and Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have joined the states that produce the beverage ( Sons of Norway) Eventually, almost every Nordic and Scandinavian farm would have its own small distillery for producing akvavit. While most would use distil alcohol using grain mash, the most northern countries would instead use potatoes.

The identities of these different akvavit varieties are very much reflected by the country’s varying climate and topology as well as the ingredients that were historically available. Finns tend to be more vodka and Koskenkorva – a grain alcohol that falls somewhere between vodka and aquavit – drinkers, but Nordic aquavit is starting to stake a national claim. Ironically, Finland is the largest producer of caraway in the world but only started distilling aquavit commercially within the last decade. In 2014, the Helsinki Distilling Company launched its craft Helsingfors Fiskehamns Akvavit. It was Finland’s first local aquavit and the first distillery in Helsinki in over a century.Yet, upon opening the casks, the Norwegians discovered that the journey had actually improved the flavour of the akvavit. Thanks the constant movement and fluctuations in temperature and humidity, the spirit’s maturation in the casks had been accelerated.