aquavit is a distilled spirit flavored with caraway seeds or dill seeds, usually complemented by additional botanicals, and bottled in both unaged and barrel-aged expressions. See caraway. It has its roots in Scandinavia, where it developed as an allegedly medicinal infusion of spices into alcohol. Like whisky and eau-de-vie, its name derives from the Latin for “water of life.” See aqua vitae. An early written reference to the spirit is found in a 1531 letter to the archbishop of Trondheim in Norway from a Danish officer of the crown, Eske Bille, who sent a sample of aquavit with a promise of its remarkable healing qualities.
Early production was widespread and informal, with thousands of stills operating in homes and farms throughout Scandinavia. Over the course of the nineteenth century production shifted to commercial distilleries, due to taxes, bans on home distilling, and shifts toward more capital-intensive production methods. See home distilling.
Regulations in the European Union require only that aquavit be flavored with caraway or dill (American regulations are more restrictive, specifying only the use of caraway). Beyond that, distillers enjoy a great deal of freedom in how their aquavits are produced. Other botanicals that are often found in aquavit include cumin, fennel, anise, coriander, juniper, and citrus peel. The botanicals are usually macerated in neutral spirit, which is then redistilled, although sometimes there is additional infusion after distillation.
Denmark is also a significant producer of aquavit, and the spirit has roots in Germany and Iceland as well. Broadly speaking, Swedish aquavit tends to be somewhat mild and sweet; Norwegian aquavit is typically barrel aged; and Danish, German, and Icelandic aquavit tends to be assertive and crisp.
The most traditional way to drink aquavit is neat, often taken as a small, chilled shot all at once with a toast of “Skål!” (The pronunciation rhymes roughly with “bowl” in English.) It appears frequently at social occasions such as Christmas, midsummer (the longest day of the year), communal crawfish boils, and Þorrablót (an Icelandic midwinter feast). Swedes are famous for their festive drinking songs that break out with they drink aquavit together. In Nordic countries, bottlings of aquavit are often marketed to pair with specific foods, such as grilled meats, seafood, fermented fish, lamb, or pork.
Distillation of aquavit has arisen among craft distilleries in the United States, especially in areas that have significant Scandinavian populations, such as Chicago, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, and Oregon.
While there are few firm definitions of aquavit styles, some to be aware of are: taffel aquavits, which are clear and typically unaged with prominent notes of caraway; dill aquavits, which use dill as the primary flavor component; and jule aquavits, created especially for Christmas, which use holiday spice blends. Beyond those three is a very diverse range of spirits, using a variety of botanicals and aging processes.
Though aquavit appears rarely in the canon of classic cocktails, the spirit is versatile for mixing. Its spice notes lend it to use in savory drinks such as the Bloody Mary, while its distillation with various botanicals makes it a promising substitute for gin. Barrel aged aquavits may also be used to good effect in place of aged spirits such as whisky, brandy, or rum.
See also linie aquavit and Scandinavia.
Brandt, Tova, ed. Skål! Scandinavian Spirits. Elk Horn, IA: Museum of Danish America, 2015.
Grier, Jacob. “Aquavit in the US.” Aquavit Week. http://aquavitweek.com/aquavits-in-the-us (accessed January 28, 2021).
By: Jacob Grier