Skal! Aquavit makes you feel like a Viking
Literally meaning 'water of life', aquavit, the powerful spirit beloved of Europe's Nordic nations, is usually enjoyed ritually and always in company.
This is how it goes: Tiny frosted glasses are plucked from the freezer. A similarly chilled bottle of aquavit is brought to the table. Then the viscous liquid is poured until it reaches the rim of the glass, stopping just above it and kept from spilling by surface tension.
When all are ready, the imbibers heartily bellow 'Skal!' (derived from the days when Vikings used to drink out of the skulls of vanquished enemies) and quaff the aquavit down in one gulp - a sensation of fire and ice at the same time, and a fine way to begin a celebratory meal.
Aquavit is hard to find in Hong Kong, but a dependable source of Danish aquavit and good Nordic fare is Finds in Lan Kwai Fong. This five-year-old establishment stocks one of the most famous Danish aquavits, Aalborg Jubilaeums.
The northern city of Aalborg is the home of De Danske Spritfabrikker (Danish Distillers), makers of Aalborg Akvavit and other beverages. And today the 128-year-old distillery produces half the aquavit consumed around the world and has about 90 per cent of Denmark's aquavit market.
Aquavit's complex tastes are deceptive. Until flavouring agents are added, it is simply a distilled spirit made from grain or potatoes, similar to vodka, its cousin across the Baltic Sea. What makes aquavit - or rather, the many different kinds of aquavit - so distinctive is the addition of extracts of a range of herbs and spices. Caraway is the most common, but dill, coriander, citrus oils and even cinnamon are also used.
Aalborg Jubilaeums, the only variety this aficionado has managed to track down in the Pearl River Delta, is perfumed with caraway seed and dill. For some Pacific Rim palates it is something of an acquired taste. But once acquired, it's quite seductive.
Aquavit is often paired with a beer chaser and usually consumed with food because of its high alcohol content. It goes fantastically well with the marinated herring, prawns and cold meats of the typical Danish smorgasbord and is also served with homely Danish fare such as meatballs and potatoes. Just don't try to match it with Chinese food. That's just a taste sensation too far for any mortal this side of Valhalla.
