Norway's Linie Aquavit, Reviewed by the Foodist

Aquavit is Scandinavia's liquor of choice, but Norway's Linie is especially tasty, says the Foodist (whose Norwegian wife did not make him write this)

By Andrew Knowlton

February 5, 2013

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(Credit: Matt Duckor)

Aquavit has been part of my drinking repertoire for years--these things happen when your wife is Norwegian--but it seems like the rest of the world is slowly coming around to the spirit. Nordic food (or New Nordic Cuisine, if we're being precise) is the center of the restaurant world at the moment, so it makes sense that the most common Scandinavian liquor would follow on its coattails. While the smoked cloudberry barks and ocean-fermented whelks of the NNC may be subtle or subdued, Aquavit is emphatically not. It's caraway-infused vodka (plus some other spices and herbs, but the licorice-y caraway dominates) and is most commonly drunk as a kind of mouthwash between bites of ribbe--a cracklingly fatty pork roast--around the holidays.

Each nation around the Baltic Sea has its own prevailing brand--the Danes have Aalborg and the Swedes have O.P.--but my favorite (again, thank the wife for this one) is the Norwegian Linie. Aquavit from Norway tends to have even stronger flavors and a slightly darker color than its neighbors, thanks to a year or more of aging in oak casks, like whiskey. Linie takes that tradition even further, though: the name is Norwegian for "equator," because to this day, each barrel is shipped around the world, from Norway to Australia and back, crossing the equator twice during the journey. They claim that the rocking in the boat, the ocean air, and the changes in temperature and humidity all go toward making it taste better, and it's hard to argue with the results.

Norwegians mostly drink aquavit during Christmas and Easter, but it's gaining traction as a cocktail ingredient here in the United States. The strong herbal flavor (and smell) works well in the kind of savory, spicy cocktails that are popular these days, and it's my favorite spirit for a stiff Bloody Mary, especially if you've got pickles in the mix. There are a bunch of good recipes in our Bloody Mary Slot Machine, and our September issue last year had two aquavit cocktails from the Bachelor Farmer and Marvel Bar in Minneapolis: the Tomas Collins and the Vespar. Whatever you do with it, it shouldn't be too hard to find, and runs around $30 for a 750-milliliter bottle.