Sources: Aquavit in Wisconsin

[rlibkind]

I'll be in Madison, Milwaukee and Racine for a week starting this Wednesday. Since the region has a big Scandinavian heritage I thought I'd have better luck finding a selection of Aquavit in Wisconsin than back home in Philly.

Any suggestions on what liquor stores have any?

[ronnie_suburban]

I attended the Distill America conference in Madison back in February and I can only remember seeing one regionally-made Aquavit there. It's from North Shore Distillers in Lake Bluff, IL.

Here's a link to their product page: http://northshoredistillery.com/aquavit.htm and a link to where it can be found in the Madison area: http://www.northshoredistillery.com/buy.php

I'm not an Aquavit guy so I cannot speak to its quality but my wife and I are both big fans of their gins. The #11 is my choice and the #6 is one of her faves. The distillery is owned and operated by a great couple -- Sonja and Derek Kassebaum -- who are very skilled, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I'd definitely give their product a try.

=R=

Edited April 26, 2011 by ronnie_suburban (log)

[rlibkind]

Thanks, Ronnie, for reminding me about North Shore's product, which I'm certainly going to try.

What I'm after, primarily, are imported aquavits. Linie and Aalborg are generally available at local liquor stores here (or at least across the Delaware River in NJ, away from the grubby paws of the PaLCB stores. I figured that in an area with a relatively large Scandinavian heritage population, the regional distributors might be importing a broader selection. I'd love to get my hands, for example, on another bottle of Gilde or Simmers Taffle (from the Norway's sole commercial distiller, Arcus) or some of the better products from Sweden or Denmark.

[rlibkind]

Got a bottle of North Shore last October in Madison. Pretty good, but definitely in the Danish rather than Norwegian style, i.e., very light aging, more taffel-like in taste (carraway) without the more complex citrus and other herbal flavors I enjoy. I consumed it the Norwegian way -- room temp -- but North Shore might be better chilled, the way Danes and Swedes like their aquavit.

A nice change of pace even tho I wouldn't make it my regular tipple.

[Alcuin]

You know I haven't seen anything outside of the usual suspects around here. I help a store in Madison stock their liquor shelves, but we haven't really gone too deep into aquavit. I can say from experience that it can be surprisingly difficult to get things that are out of the ordinary. Even if a distributor has it, a lot of times we really have to work on them to get them to give it to us. Getting Laird's bonded in stock was a real pain. I'll see what I can turn up though.