Ahus Akvavit Original 38%

Description

Ahus Akvavit Original is a Swedish aquavit. This is a modern take on a historical drink which dates way back to the 15th century when it was created by monks as a medicine to cure physical and spiritual ailments.

What is Akvavit? Akvavit is a distilled spirit which is popular in Scandinavian countries. It is known as Akevitt in Norwegian or Aquavit in English. It is a distillate of grain or potatoes flavoured with herbs and spice (what most people would call botanicals if we were talking about gin). The dominant flavour should be caraway or dill, Swedish akvavit must also contain fennel and it should have a minimum 37.5% ABV.

The Ahus Distillery was founded in 1906 and has produced many of Sweden’s favourite spirits, liqeurs and vodkas through the years. Today it is part of the Absolute Company which was in turn purchased from the Swedish state by the French drinks giant Pernod Ricard in 2008. The distillery is located in the small seaside town of Åhus in the southern Sweden region of Skåne. The distillery is known as the Spiritchurch, a four storey copper still distillery which is a focus point of the point.

The botanicals for Ahus Akvavit Original include Caraway, Rosemary, Lemon peel, Seville orange and Fennel, some are locally farmed and foraged, the citrus comes from further away. They are dried and stored in the “spice room” until maceration. The spirit used for maceration is a fine grain spirit made from locally grown winter wheat. After maceration the macerated components are distilled separately in copper stills which gives more control over obtaining the best distillate from the individual botanicals. Finally the five components are blended and bottled and the Akvavit is ready to drink. Caraway brings warm, peppery and hints of anise. Fennel is bright, vegetal and sweet. Rosemary brings a slightly minty, peppery taste with a bitter, woody aftertaste.

In Sweden, no celebration is complete without a toast with Akvavit serve in small schnapps glasses.