Norway’s Aquavit Trail: Discovering a Liquid Treasure

In the early 14th century about the time Christianity was introduced in Norway, a number of monks around the country were mastering the art of distillation. I have no idea why monks were making spirits but their efforts produced one that would ultimately become one of Norway’s finest cultural treasures. The monks thought they had made an all-curing universal medicine that would be able to combat every disease and even reverse aging. They named it Aqua Vitae, which in Latin means Water of Life. Aquavit, as it is called today, is distilled from potatoes and flavored with spices, typically caraway or dill.

The best place to get familiar with Norway’s fire water is on the newly developed Aquavit Trail. The route winds through jaw dropping scenery and takes you to farmhouses, hotels and even to old aquavit distilleries. Sampling the aquavit and enjoying the local fare in the Trondelag region—much of which has been voted the best of its kind in the world—is definitely not a bad way to spend a day or two.

My experience along the Aquavit Trail began in Trondheim which is the birthplace of Linie Aquavit—Norway’s oldest producer of aquavit. Linie Aquavit has an unusual maturation process that was discovered accidentally. The ship Trondheim’s Prove set sail in 1805 with a cargo of dry fish, ham and cheese to Batavia—now known as Indonesia. The cargo also included 5 liters of a potato spirit in oak barrels which went unsold. After crossing the equator on the return trip, the crew opened the barrels to celebrate. The taste was unexpected–perfect!  During the journey the potato spirit had matured into what we know today as Linie Aquavit.

The process remains unchanged to this day with the liquid still sent to sea for maturation. If you look through the bottle at the back side of the label, you’ll find the name of the ship that carried it across the equator along with the date it sailed.

Trondheim’s fish restaurant, Havfruen, was the scene of my first aquavit encounter and where I was introduced to the owner, Herbert Klein. The chef had prepared a perfect meal for dinner but Herbert insisted on serving me my first sample of aquavit before dinner and, of course, it had to be Linie Aquavit. As I savored the burn of the 43% alcohol and tasted the distinct flavor of the caraway, I knew my plan to sample as many varieties as possible in the next two days was not going to be a problem.

The Aquavit Trail takes you along the Golden Route. Man (or woman) cannot live by drink alone, so visiting the farms situated between postcard scenes of indescribable beauty was the perfect way to pace my aquavit craving soul. Some of my stops included the Gangstad Farm where Astrid Aasen shared her freshly made cheeses and licorice flavored ice cream and the Husfrua Farmhouse for cake— if you’re sampling spirits containing 43% alcohol, you need food. I also visited an ancient aquavit distillery with a cave like tasting room straight out of medieval times.

A stop at Jegtvolden Fjord Hotel and its aquavit bar yielded a three course meal of regional cuisine. With each inventive course a perfectly paired aquavit was presented along with the appropriate beer —the customary chaser for a shot of aquavit.

Even the heartiest aquavit sampler needs a break and I took mine at Klostergarden Farmhouse where my focus switched to finding the best beer to pair with future shots of aquavit. Jorn Gunnarson Anderseen (who looks exactly like a Viking I once met in a dream) brews a variety of craft beers and serves beer infused chocolates. There’s really no way to go wrong with that combination.

Eventually the Aquavit Trail led me back to Trondheim where I savored a lunch of herring—some pickled, some sweet and of course, numerous aquavit tastings at Baklandet Skydsstation, where the owner, Girli Riis Holmen, was as intriguing as her charming restaurant.

The finale of my Aquavit Trail experience took me to Norway’s smallest bar—which is also its first aquavit bar. The bartender at Norsk Aquavit Bar No. 1 which serves over 60 varieties of aquavit, poured me countless tastes of rare bottlings and, like a sommelier, stressed the importance of matching each version to specific Nordic dishes.

At this point I really could not eat another bite, yet I continued the samples of Norway’s finest cultural treasure—because I was on a mission.

The country code for Norway is 47