Aquavit Cocktails

[eje]

Cool as Copenhagen

For the cucumber puree:

1 cucumber

1 tsp. lemon zest

1/4 cup dry vermouth

small pinch of sea salt

For the cocktail:

1 oz cucumber puree

2 oz Aquavit

1/2 tsp Pastis

Peel and seed a cucumber. Puree cucumber flesh, lemon zest, dry vermouth and a couple ice cubes until smooth. If you're really particular, you could put the mixture through a cheesecloth. This will make enough for quite a few cocktails.

Combine cocktail ingredients in an iced cocktail shaker, shake, and strain well into a cocktail glass. Lemon twist or Fennel frond seems like a nice garnish.

edit - Forgot the pinch of sea salt in the cucumber puree, which by the way, makes an excellent chilled soup when combined with a bit of plain yoghurt.

Edited January 27, 2006 by eje (log)

[David Santucci]

I decided I should experiment a bit with my bottle of Aalborg aquavit, and figured I'd revive this thread while I was at it. First of all I aabsolutely aadore the Aalborg. I don't find it harsh. I picked it up in NYC last time I was up there and coincidentally picked up a bottle of Amaro Cora. First thing I tried with either was the two together, and this is absolute magic -- highly recommended.

As for the experimenting, I tried lemon, which was pretty good, and Maraschino, which I thought canceled out the taste of the aquavit, and then Cointreau, which was a really nice complement. The drink I ended up with was this:

2 oz. Aalborg

1/4 oz. Cointreau

1/2 tsp. Unicum

served old-fashioned style, with a lemon twist. Pretty nice.

[Anna N]

I decided I should experiment a bit with my bottle of Aalborg aquavit, and figured I'd revive this thread while I was at it. First of all I aabsolutely aadore the Aalborg. I don't find it harsh. I picked it up in NYC last time I was up there and coincidentally picked up a bottle of Amaro Cora. First thing I tried with either was the two together, and this is absolute magic -- highly recommended.

As for the experimenting, I tried lemon, which was pretty good, and Maraschino, which I thought canceled out the taste of the aquavit, and then Cointreau, which was a really nice complement. The drink I ended up with was this:

2 oz. Aalborg

1/4 oz. Cointreau

1/2 tsp. Unicum

served old-fashioned style, with a lemon twist. Pretty nice.

←

Bet you can't find any more Aalborg Akvavit though. No longer being exported to North America - we are still crying the blues!

[mbrowley]

What timing. I'm headed to Los Angeles tomorrow for a crawfish boil (Tulane alumni invited me; apparently the third boil in as many weeks). Packed in my overnight kit is Danish Akvavit: How to Savour and How to Flavour it (Henning Kirkeby, 1975, Copenhagen, Høst & Søns Forlag). The guy who sold it to me assured me that "akvavit" meant "to your health" in Danish. I bit my tongue and paid the man.

One of the things I like about the book (besides its extensive listing of brands, many now sadly gone) is a section on cold infusions: St. John' wort, corn mint, elder, woodruff, cranberry, a few bitters. The author dissuades readers from home distilling, but purchasing and personalizing spirits? That's another tale entirely...

[edited for my usual typos]

Edited May 9, 2008 by mbrowley (log)

[Danne]

I'm sorry but, that akvavit means "to your health" can't be true.

Akvavit comes from aqua vitae, "the water of life" in latin.

Just like whisky comes from uisge beatha in gaelic.

[tikibars]

One of Jeff Berry's books has a recipe for aquavit and gin called Peg Leg Punch.

I am doing a tiki drinks seminar here in Chicago on July 31 (at Sam's in the South Loop), which was set up for me by the good people at North Shore Distillery.

info:

http://www.samswine.com/summer-mean-tiki-d...p-10069439.html

Conveniently, North Shore makes a gin and - interestingly - an aquavit.

For the seminar, I plan to use North Shore's gin and aquavit in a Peg Leg Punch, and then do two rum drinks (of course).

I'll be experimenting with and tweaking the Bum's printed recipe to tune it for the North Shore products in the coming weeks; I will let you all know what I come up with.

Edited June 8, 2008 by tikibars (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Trident plus Negroni gives us this no-name, a bracing libation while you're finishing up a massive internet forum database reorganization:

1 oz Campari

1 oz aquavit (Aalborg)

1 oz Cynar

[Chris Amirault]

I was eating a dried apricot while cleaning my liquor cabinet up and reading about Erik's "Gin & It" problem over in the Savoy topic. Saw the aquavit and a nearly empty bottle of Plymouth, and, well, one thing lead to another, leading to this potent pick-me-up. It starts fruity and ends with the Punt e Mes and aquavit spices:

1 oz aquavit (Aalborg)

1 oz gin (Plymouth)

1/2 oz Apry

1/2 oz Italian vermouth (Punt e Mes)

Stir, up, twist of orange.

Wondering what might happen if you dialed back the gin and aquavit 1/4 oz, added 1/2 oz lemon, maybe a dash of simple.....

[Chris Amirault]

Found three bottles on a local liquor store shelf: Skane, O. P. Anderson, and Herrgard. Any of those worth getting as an improvement over the Aalborg?

[Lahti]

Bumping this old thread to share som information on different types of akvavit, and to see if you can help me put some of them to use. Cocktails with akvavit is fairly unheard of in Sweden, but since we have an (almost) endless supply of the stuff it would be nice to put it to use.

Akvavit must be spiced with carraway and/or dill and contain at least 37.5% alcohol. Other than that you can add whatever flavour you like and choose to age it.

There are two major styles of akvavit: danish and norwegian. The norwegian style is barrel aged and has a much rounder and softer taste than the danish. In Sweden we mainly prouce akvavits of the danish style.

I'm not sure about the brands on the american market, but I will give you a short list of popular brands:

OP Andersson is the most sold akvavit in Sweden, heavy carraway and anise flavours.

Aalborg Jubilaeum Probably the the most recognized akvavit brands around, and is very typical for the danish style. Dill, coriander with a hint of citrus.

Lysholm Linie is famous for crossing the equator twice and is a brilliant example of norwegian akvavit. Round and balanced with a classic carraway and dill flavour.

Hallands Fläder is not a traditionally flavoured akvavit, but it is still a lovely product. The carraway is much more subtle and the dominant flavour is elderflower (hence the name fläder=elderflower) and to some extent juniper.

I've been working on several cocktails with Hallands Fläder, but they all seem to come out a bit unbalanced. The best luck I've had so far is with gin, so maybe a Negroni with some sort of twit to it would be a decent shot.. If anyone has had any luck in mixing with Hallands Fläder, please let me know!

[rlibkind]

In South NJ, Aalborg can usually be found, and sometimes Linie, which can always be special ordered. I used to find Julilaens, but no more.

I enjoy Aalborg and other unaged aquavits (norway's Simmers) with herring, etc., but Linie and other cask-aged aquavits are best neat. I find a Scotch whiskey glass like Riedel's nicely promotes the nose. With Linie there's a nice orange whiff along with a subdued caraway.

[tanstaafl2]

I finally managed to remember to take a picture of the Aalborg while I was in the store yesterday (still negotiating hard to figure out how to get Kuchan peach brandy to my local store!). According to the label it is imported to the US and then bottled here. I suppose this explains why the label is a bit different on the bottle than in Europe. It may also be why there may have been a brief pause in availability at one point. Not sure how it was handled in the past.

Was looking for drinks to experiment with Canton last night. I wonder if the ginger would make a good combination in a drink with the strong caraway flavor of this akvavit?

Edited September 21, 2011 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

I got challenged to bring an aquavit drink to a Norwegian-themed holiday party, so I used the occasion to finally try Jeff Morgenthaler's Norwegian Wood. I bought Krogstad aquavit since it is what Morgenthaler had developed his recipe around. I had to go with Calvados instead of applejack for the French touch.

Here is the home practice run with Daron fine calvados and Cocchi vermouth di Torino. Pretty solid drink but I was not wowed. It fell a little flat (note that I am being super critical).

For the party, I upgraded to Daron XO* and the host provided a fresh bottle of Vya vermouth. The calvados on its own has a pretty rough start, but finishes beautifully. I was really curious to see how it was going to work in the drink.

The cocktail was a big hit. It was perfect to end the evening. Beautiful cocktail with an amazing finish courtesy of the calvados & yellow chartreuse. I will make it again using the Daron XO.

I also made Jeff Berry's Peg Leg punch with aquavit, vodka, grapefruit and lemon juice, homemade orgeat. This was pre-batched and was the first drink of the night. It was ok, but I think that it would need some tweaking to be more memorable/ less one-note (the Krogstad has a very strong caraway and star anise flavor). Maybe simply adding some angostura bitters a la Army & Navy would make it more interesting.

Other drinks served included a White Lady variation (aquavit, lemon juice, triple sec, sans egg white), and, the wild card of the night, a cocktail pairing aquavit with Lillet Rose, maraschino, and absinthe.

Fun party. We got to try half a dozen different aquavits.

(*)Sounds spendy but a friend alerted me to a ridiculously low-priced cache in a local liqueur store...

Edited December 20, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[tanstaafl2]

A curious choice given it is not Norwegian but rather an American aquavit. Linie is generally available and would seem a logical choice given that it is after all from Norway!

When it is isn't on a cruise anyway...

Never had Krogstad. Do you know if it is similar to Linie or other Norwegian aquavits?

[sbumgarner]

Never had Krogstad. Do you know if it is similar to Linie or other Norwegian aquavits?

The Krogstad is heavier on the anise than something like an Aalborg. It's good stuff, but that flavor may not work in certain applications (and works great in others).

[FrogPrincesse]

A curious choice given it is not Norwegian but rather an American aquavit. Linie is generally available and would seem a logical choice given that it is after all from Norway!

When it is isn't on a cruise anyway...

Never had Krogstad. Do you know if it is similar to Linie or other Norwegian aquavits?

Korgstad was a deliberate choice. I had a chance to try it alongside other products made by House Spirits, and liked its flavor enough to invest in a bottle.

Linie is indeed available here, but is completely different. As it's aged in sherry casks, it is more mellow and has a noticeable sweet sherry finish. It was used in the White Lady variation mentioned above but I imagine it's best for sipping, if you are really into aquavit. The spices are less prominent compared to Krogstad, which was by far the most fragrant of the ones we tried that night.

[FrogPrincesse]

Just a side note that Krogstad also makes an aquavit aged in French oak wine barrels, which is more in line with the Linie.

[tanstaafl2]

A curious choice given it is not Norwegian but rather an American aquavit. Linie is generally available and would seem a logical choice given that it is after all from Norway!

When it is isn't on a cruise anyway...

Never had Krogstad. Do you know if it is similar to Linie or other Norwegian aquavits?

Korgstad was a deliberate choice. I had a chance to try it alongside other products made by House Spirits, and liked its flavor enough to invest in a bottle.

Linie is indeed available here, but is completely different. As it's aged in sherry casks, it is more mellow and has a noticeable sweet sherry finish. It was used in the White Lady variation mentioned above but I imagine it's best for sipping, if you are really into aquavit. The spices are less prominent compared to Krogstad, which was by far the most fragrant of the ones we tried that night.

Thanks! Interesting to hear the differences. Wasn't familiar with the barrel aged Krogstad but have seen the regular stuff around here.

I do rather like Linie on its own, especially this time of year, and have rarely tried to use it in a cocktail.

[Czequershuus]

Recently tried the Aquavit Fizz, found on CocktailDB

Aquavit Fizz

1.5 Oz Aquavit (Aalborg)

1 Oz Lemon Juice

0.25 Oz Cherry Heering

0.5 tsp Simple Syrup

0.5 Egg White

Soda to fill

Shake, strain over ice in a collins glass, top with soda.

Not quite what I envisioned. Maybe it would work better with Linie or another aquavit, but this just did not sync up. All the flavor stood out, never meshing. I love my aquavit, but this did not work. I wonder if the Heering was included for nationalistic purposes only, as it certainly does northing to bring this together. I like the idea of an Aquavit Fizz, and I would like to tinker with this later.

[FrogPrincesse]

This beautiful drink, one of Rafa's creations, which tastes like a salty and slightly savory Martini. Love.

 

Not Waving But Drowning with Beefeater gin, Krogstad aquavit, Dolin white vermouth, Regan's and Fee Brothers' orange bitters, expressed orange peel.

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Bikers Grove (Jen Riley via Gaz Regan) with Tequila Ocho plata, Krogstad aquavit, Luxardo maraschino, Boy Drinks World grapefruit bitters.

Designed to showcase Tequila Ocho plata 2011 (my bottle is the 2014), this cocktail is intensely peppery... A slow sipper. I thought it was a bit strange that the type of aquavit was not specified, but based on the picture, it doesn't seem to be an aged one.

 

 

 

 

 

[Lisa Shock]

I do have a bottle in my cabinet pretty much at all times, I like to sip it straight or occasionally mix with tomato water.

 

That said, I prefer Jubilæums, but have not seen a bottle in the US for many years.

[Craig E]

Smoke and Mirrors: aquavit, Campari, Cynar. Flamed orange zest garnish. 

 

This is a winner in the Negroni-like space. Apprehensive about bitterness, I added a few drops of saline too. Caramel and fruit are the big notes, with the spices of aquavit sitting underneath, keeping everything from getting too candyish.

[FrogPrincesse]

@Craig EI wasn't too impressed with that one, but I used Krogstad. Would you mind describing how the Brennevin aquavit tastes on its own?

[Craig E]

Just now, FrogPrincesse said:

@Craig EI wasn't too impressed with that one, but I used Krogstad. Would you mind describing how the Brennevin aquavit tastes on its own?

Funny you should ask because it's literally the only aquavit I've ever had. (My parents brought it to me from their trip to Iceland.) So I have no idea if it's typical or where it fits in with other brands. In taste and more clearly in aroma it has a pleasing spice that I think is caraway (though I confess that I'm not clear on distinguishing caraway from anise from fennel). At any rate there's not much dill to it, which I gather is another common aquavit spice.