Aquavit

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Swedish aquavit

Aquavit , also Akvavit ( Latin aqua vitae , water of life , even the water of life ' ), since the Middle Ages as alcohol , distilled extract , pharmaceutical name for brandy or alcohol known. The term was first mentioned in documents in 1494 in Scottish tax documents.

From the early modern period onwards , it is usually used to describe a brandy flavored with spices, e.g. B also " whiskey ". The clear to golden yellow spirit is made using caraway and dill seeds and originally comes from Scandinavia .

Aquavit is made from highly rectified , very pure 96 volume percent , almost tasteless alcohol of agricultural origin, e.g. B. made cereals or potatoes . For this purpose, after distilling (“burning”) it is mixed with water, caraway seeds, dill seeds (dill fruits) or a brand-specific mixture of spices such as coriander , fennel , cinnamon or cloves . The composition of the respective spice mixture determines the character of the individual brands.

During the distillation, the first and last runnings are separated because of the impurities they contain. To reduce the flavored distillate to drinking strength, distilled or demineralized water is added. This raw product then spends some time in the maturing warehouse in order to bond the ingredients and round off the taste. High quality aquavit matures in wooden barrels. Used sherry barrels are sometimes also refilled.

Aquavit must have a minimum alcohol content of 37.5 percent by volume. The caraway flavor must be predominant. It is usually drunk ice cold in a shot glass that is as pre-chilled as possible.

Well-known brands include Bommerlunder , Malteserkreuz Aquavit , Linie-Aquavit and Aalborg Akvavit . A variant of caraway schnapps or caraway liqueur is the Latvian Allasch . North German caraway brandies are also known regionally as Köm . The Icelandic Brennivín is similar to the aquavit .

Web links

Commons : Aquavit  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Aquavit  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Helmut Arntz : Weinbrenner. The story of the spirit of wine. Seewald, Stuttgart 1975, pp. 70-77 and 86 f.
2. ↑ Swiss countries - 1494 - Aqua Vitae. Suntan. Retrieved November 13, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Early New High German Dictionary . Volume 2, p. 27.