I decided I’t try akvavit, so I picked up a bottle of Linie brand. I’ve only had a taste, but it reminds me of something one might use to strip paint with.
I wonder how it would taste if I put it in glöggi?
Big aquavit fan here, stunned into insensibility by your describing it as paint remover, although I must admit I never have tried it in that usage…hmmm…
Good thing you tried Linie and not Aalborg, which is the most available and least pleasant of the various brands. Try it again while watching a gloomy incomprehensible Swedish film and thinking about winter, suicide and Volvos, and you might get better results.
I can’t see using it for glogg as it is too neutral, but whatever you do, don’t drink it with lutefisk!
OK, here’s something…
I had a massive dinner tonight. A whole steak and some corn. Having heard that akvavit is a digestif, I began to think about having another go. After an hour or so, I wandered back into the kitchen. There’s a big jar of peanut butter on the counter, a brand I haven’t tried and ‘all natural’. I got a spoon and mixed up the oil and the peanuts and, since the spoon was peanut-buttery anyway, had a taste. After washing the spoon I took 2 cl of the akvavit.
Actually… It didn’t taste as harsh. I’m wondering if it’s better as an accompaniment with food? And I just happen to have some gravlax I made in the freezer.
You say that like it’s a bad thing 
You should preferably drink it while eating something heavy, like meat but the gravlax will do. What brands of akvavit can you get Johnny? No chance of my favourite Bäska Droppar (made with wormwood) I think but maybe you can get the very nice O.P Andersson?
You should learn some snapsvisorto go along with it
The only brand I saw in the store was Linie, and it’s the only one on the state’s list. (Unlike my native California, there is no free market for spirits up here.)
As for the songs, I’d have to get in with a Scandinavian crowd. Lots of Norwegians up here, but I don’t know where they hang out. (I did visit the Swedish Cultural Center in Seattle, though.)
How did you drink it? Usally it’s poured in glasses like these. And take out the bottle from the freezer right before drinking.
One easy snapsvisa is the finnish-swedish one that goes like this:
“Inte nu, men nu!” And then you drink the snaps. It means “Not now but now!”
I don’t know what songs the norwegians sing, probably songs badmouthing the swedes.
That would be appropriate, since my mom’s husband was from Turku.
When I was in Sweden I saw a flat piece of wood with holes in it, numbered one through five. The package said ‘Norwegian Digital Calculator’ and ‘Made for Norway’.
As mentioned…drink it quickly (as a shot, basically) and drink it ice cold. Akvavit (or “snaps”, as we say in Sweden) was never really produced as something one sips in a glass in the company of good friends, it’s more a way of spicing lousy moonshine to get the worst blech out of it. Hence why it’s usually spiced with rather harsh herbs, such as wormwood, caraway or anise.
Swedes primarily drink it out of tradition or as a means to get drunk. Or a combination of the two: a traditional way to get drunk. Personally I can’t imagine a reason to drink it on any other occasion than midsummer or Christmas. But as said…if you’re going to, drink it ice cold and bloody quickly. Traditionally it’s consumed to fish (pickled herring, anyone?) and cooked crayfish.
If you’re ever in these parts, I can recommend “Hallands fläder”. It’s flavored with elderberry flowers and is at least drinkable.
Yes, please! 
(The only problem with pickled herring is that I tend to eat as much of it in one sitting as I buy. So I tend to buy it about 120g at a time.)
I drank what they gave me in the souvenir shot glass in Solvang and had to chase it with a lot of water.
Actually, both akvavit and pickled herring are rather easy to make at home. If you’d like, I could scrounge up some recipes.
Linie is an excellent akvavit - one of my favorites along with Rød Aalborg and Jubilæums (both Danish). You could use it in glögg, but I think it’s too fine a spirit to be used for that - find something cheaper.
And for god’s sake: Don’t drink it from the freezer - you won’t be able to taste it at all. I know that most of my countrymen (and the Swedes, too, apparently) prefer it that way, but to me that’s a real waste. You might as well drink vodka.
It is true that most people consider snaps/akvavit an unpleasant accompaniment to the christmas lunch (including, of course, pickled herring), but a good snaps is really a thing to enjoy, IMO.
Would you drink your grappa or eau de vie ice cold?
Quite right, we do 
(“Jag e inte sjuk, jag e bara svensk”, springs to mind )
As for me, Akevitt is normally reserved for heavy Christmas meals, and if you get the right brand to the type of meat or fish you’re eating, it’s a very good combination.
The problem with not residing in Scandinavia is that you only get access to a few of the “major” brands. Each brand, and indeed each type of brand, is usually best served in combination with certain meals. They even make brands specially for lighter meals eaten during the summer, for instance.
To give you an idea of the number of different options, here’s a link to the (Norwegian language) number of Akevitts available in Norway. (Not counting the local brews only available in select areas…)
http://www.vinmonopolet.no/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/store-vmp-Site/no_NO/-/NOK/v_PerformSearch-Prod?query=*&sort=2&sortMode=0&filterIds=25;26&filterValues=Brennevin%3BAkevitt
Wow, abel29a, you have problem with your alcohol prices in Norway. Here in Denmark snaps is maybe the cheapest alcohol, and it is mostly consumped at cristmas or easter. Even by me and I live in Aalborg
A link to the prices in Denmark:
http://www.methling.dk/butik/snaps/snaps.php 5 kr = 1$
I’m rather partial to Gammal Norrlands myself, but I’ll have to drop by Systemet sometime and pick up a bottle of Bäska. Mmm, Scandinavian absinthe!
I’ve tried akvavit both on its own and as an accompaniment with food and I find the latter preferable. I don’t put it in the freezer but I do like a bit of chill to it, the flavors are muted just enough. Certainly nothing close to paint thinner! (I’ve had Russian homebrew, so such substances do exist - akvavit isn’t one of them.)
I have a Norwegian cookbook that has a recipe for the spirits – and maybe the herring, and it’s easy enough to walk down to get some pickled herring from Pike Place Fish Market. (Also, if I made pickled herring at home I’d eat it until I’m sick of it!) But I’m sure other posters would like to make them.
This is the other thing that bugs me about this state. In California I could buy spirits from the supermarket, and there was price competition. Up here, spirits must be bought from state liquor stores, and they tax the hell out of it. For example, a bottle of Laphroaig could cost me about $35 in California. Up here, the same bottle would cost $50. Fortunately, while I like alcohol, I very rarely drink it. Even beer (which can be bought in the supermarket) is an occasional thing. (A little more frequent, since my boss doesn’t mind the occasional pub lunch.) Unfortunately, it makes it a hassle if I want to cook steak au poivre.
I was being unkind. My first taste was a bit of a surprise, since it tastes so different from what I’m used to.
On behalf of the Scandinavian liquor industry and akvavit lovers the world around, apology accepted.
Ten months later, and I’ve polished off half the bottle!
As recommended upthread, it’s nicer when drunk in a shot. Nice caraway aftertaste. Eventually, maybe even this year, this bottle will be empty. I’ll buy another.