What’s shakin, cocktail fans?
Welcome to Episode 175 of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast!
Thanks for joining us for this interview episode, where we track down the best and brightest minds in the spirits and cocktail world so that we can share their secrets with you. This time around, we’re joined by spirits pioneer and Aquavit maker Christian Krogstad, creator of Krogstad Aquavit. Oh yeah, and he also created Aviation Gin. You may have heard of it.
We’re here, though, to talk specifically about Aquavit, the traditional Nordic spirit that walks and talks a little bit like gin, while following a few of its own unique botanical rules.
In this Aquavit-driven conversation with Christian Krogstad, creator of Krogstad Aquavit, some of the topics we discuss include:
What differentiates Aquavit from other botanical spirits like gin and genever
How Christian noticed an impending gap in Aquavit imports and used it as an opportunity to develop and launch his own brand.
The place that this Nordic spirit holds in Scandinavian cuisine and culture, including which foods to pair it with.
A few cocktails to play around with as you begin to build out your Aquavit collection at home,
What to drink with a college-age Stephen Hawking,
And much, much more
You can find Krogstad Aquavit in many liquor stores in most US states. If you’d like a bottle to be shipped to you, like, NOW…head on over to Caskers. You can follow this brand on Instagram @krogstadaquavit.
This episode’s featured cocktail is the Norwegian Paralysis. Developed by Martin Cate of Smuggler’s Cove fame, it’s a relatively low-ABV Tiki drink that gives Aquavit a chance to stretch its tropical legs. To make it, you’ll need:
1.5 oz fresh orange juice
1.5 oz fresh pineapple juice
0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
0.25 oz 2:1 Demerara syrup
0.25 oz Orgeat
1.5 oz aquavit
Combine these ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, give em a good, hard shake until you start to hear and feel the texture change and the tin begin to frost, and then strain into a highball glass over ice and top it all off with a nice, aromatic garnish.
Some versions of this drink call for cracked or cube ice, some call for crushed. Some call for a garnish of mint, and others for a lemon wedge speared with a cocktail pick. So if we’re taking our cues from the internet, it seems like the main requirement for this drink is to get it mixed up and then follow your heart when it comes to service style.
Aquavit is a traditionally Scandinavian spirit made by either infusing or distilling botanicals into grain- or potato-based distillate. It often has a savory or mentholated flavor due to the traditional (and now mandatory) inclusion of caraway and/or dill seed.
Here’s a link to the TTB’s standards of identity for spirits (scroll all the way down for Aquavit)
A small shot of Aquavit taken with food is referred to as a “Snaps”
Decades ago, many American liquor store owners heard people asking for Aquavit as “Snaps,” which is why it is often erroneously stocked alongside cheap liqueurs and “Schnapps” to this day
In 2018, the TTB relaxed its definition of Aquavit to include dill seed, whereas the only required botanical was previously caraway seed.
This episode was produced by Edie Frederick, with editing and sound design by Samantha Reed. This has been a Modern Bar Cart production, copyright 2021.
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