The name comes from the Latin word for “water of life”—not to be confused with eau de vie, a clear, unaged brandy. Brandy this isn’t. Rather than fruit, this Scandinavian distillate calls for grain or potatoes for its production, and over time, two main flavorings have become standard starting points: caraway seed and dill seed.
While the first production of it has no certain calendar date, the earliest written record of aquavit appears in a 1531 letter. Danish Lord Eske Bille of Bergenhus sent a bottle of a purported medicinal cure to Norwegian Bishop Olav Engelbrektsson. Today, its production and enjoyment abound in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and northern Germany.
Originally considered a cure-all of sorts, any modern credence in its healthfulness is as a digestive, a bit like bitters, to be consumed after a large or rich meal. Local recipes for the spice and botanical sides of it varied according to local tastes and available ingredients, but caraway and dill became standard.
There are some regional differences, however. In Norway and Denmark, the end-of-meal shot of aquavit is part of Christmas and Easter traditions, while Sweden serves it in summer for celebratory meals along with bold appetizers—think pickled herring. The Danes refer to it as snaps and produce it with stronger flavors of caraway, dill, and coriander, while anise and fennel stand out in the Swedish varieties.
The Danes and Swedes produce aquavit from grains, but Norwegians use potatoes (by law, they are required to use at least 95 percent Norwegian potatoes) and often age their aquavit, usually in sherry barrels, to get a nice golden color and that touch of barrel flavor. Aging can range from six months to more than a decade.
One particular Norwegian variety is linje, or “line,” aquavit. These are aged at sea, and the line in reference is the equator. Ships carry oak barrels of the stuff back and forth through the tropics. Why? The humidity, rocking motion, and varying temperatures accelerate the process and pull more flavors from the wood. The practice originated in 1805 when the Lysholms, a family with a trading company, shipped their aquavit to India, didn’t find a market for it, and shipped it right back to Oslo, where they found the journey had transformed it in lovely ways.
Much like the term “table wine,” aquavit has a sort of workaday nature and can be labeled Taffel (table), a typically unaged, colorless variety. Denmark likes aquavit chilled; Norway takes it at room temperature.
But in all cases, aquavit comes with a potent punch, often 40 percent alcohol by volume (with a European minimum of 37.5 percent to be considered the real deal). But of course, each nation considers its own aquavit to be the best.
American Aquavit
While the bottles from Old World producers are often available on shelves in the United States, an interest in aquavit has found its way into U.S. craft distilling. Much as in Europe, the flavor profiles vary as much as the botanicals.Tattersall Distilling in Minnesota, a state with strong Scandinavian roots, produces a Danish-style aquavit made from organic corn, centered around caraway and fennel but also bringing notes of coriander, citrus, cardamom, and nutmeg. They also offer a variety further flavored with toasted coconut.
Matthew Arkin, son of the late great Academy Award-winning Alan Arkin, co-founded Batch 22 to produce aquavit.
What to Try
Aalborg Taffel Akvavit
One of the most popular snaps (aquavits) in Denmark, this award-winning table version, first sold in 1846, is clear and caraway-forward with a citrus finish. It’s often kept chilled and at the ready. Break out the pickled herring.
LINIE Aquavit
Matured in Oloroso sherry casks, the contents of every bottle have traveled twice across the equator on a four-month ocean journey. It’s smooth, with strong notes of caraway and star anise but also that bit of sherry and vanilla from the wood.Batch 22, Classic Gold
This offers a citrusy blend of botanicals and spices, with unmissable caraway on the palate and dill on the nose when you open the bottle. It received a gold medal and was named the 2022 Specialty Spirit of the Year at the New Orleans Spirits Competition, along with a Platinum Medal for Best Aquavit at the 2022 L.A. Spirits Awards.
State Line Distillery Aquavit
Grain-based and pot-distilled in small batches, this craft aquavit from Madison, Wisconsin, keeps the traditional caraway and star anise at the center, adding a blend of holiday spices and aging it all in rye whiskey barrels. It’s an excellent sipper and great in cocktails.Mixing It Up
Traditionally, aquavit has been sipped straight, but creative mixology has given it some attention. Erik Battin, a bartender in the tasting room of State Line Distillery, a producer of aquavit, likes the spirit for its potent flavor.“A little bit goes a long way,” he said. “It’s best to do a split base, to have a different spirit like gin. The botanicals in that pair nicely. It’s almost like an absinthe, where you get that anise, that caraway.” But for an aquavit-forward cocktail, “you’d want to use a pretty powerful mixer—aquavit and grapefruit is a really great combination.”
