You might know it as a restaurant (a very good one at that), you might know it as the tasty and diverse Scandinavian spirit that gives the restaurant its name or you might not know it at all, but however you know or don't know it, aquavit, the drink, is a delicious thing.
I was recently reawakened to aquavit's awesomeness through a, perhaps, unexpected drink—my favorite, the bloody mary. Zoe, a restaurant in SOHO, has a great brunch and a wonderful standard house-made bloody mary mix to go with it. What sets Zoe apart is they serve this bloody mary with a wide variety of spirts: vodka, infused vodkas, gin, tequila and, yes, aquavit.
I went for the aquavit bloody mary and I loved it. It's like a more interesting gin, but that's putting things simply. It's made from a neutral spirit (grain or potato) like vodka, but then infused with what could be hundreds of different things, but usually of the herb/botanical variety. Unlike most gins, which are infused then redistilled, aquavit is infused after distillation. This means restaurants and even individual homes can easily make their own varieties, like house-infused vodkas that are so popular now.
It’s a wonderfully refreshing aperitif, a beautiful mixer (oh-so-good in a bloody mary) and great to cook with as well. It adds great crisp, clean flavors to marinades, to things like fish especially. I've even seen recipes for things like Lemon Aquavit Pound Cake!
If you haven't tried aquavit before, order it the next time you're out or even buy a bottle to have around for cooking and drinking. If you like gin (or even if you don't) it's probably something you'll enjoy and, as with anything, the good ones are better than the bad ones, so don't give up if you don't love it the first time you try it. Oh, and it’s great with oysters!
Erin Hollingsworth
