Aquavit (alternative spelling: akvavit) is a Nordic spirit–a distillation of grain or potato alcohol, flavored with herbs and botanicals. The most common, dominant flavoring is from caraway, usually with a strong flavor of dill as well. Styles of aquavit vary, and it usually includes other spices as well – anise, coriander, citrus, fennel, and savory botanicals. If you like a good loaf of rye bread, the odds are you’re going to like aquavit.

In a nutshell, it is gin’s Scandinavian cousin. Juniper is the dominant flavoring in gin, while it’s caraway in aquavit, but otherwise the two spirits have a great deal in common. Think of using aquavit in place of gin in some of your favorite cocktails, as we do below in this post. It’s a more savory flavor profile than gin, purpose-distilled to pair with traditional Scandinavian fare like pickled herring, smoked fish and pungent cheeses.

The Last Wörd is a sibling of the gin cocktail known as “The Last Word,” replacing juniper-dominant gin with the caraway-dominated aquavit, which marries perfectly with the herbaceous green Chartreuse. Just observe the special character and get that Scandahoovian pronunciation right!

LAST WÖRD

¾ oz Aquavit

¾ oz Green Chartreuse liqueur

¾ oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

¾ oz Freshly squeezed lime juice

Shake all ingredients with ice, fine strain into chilled glass, garnish with Luxardo Maraschino cherries.

P.S., The simplicity of equal parts of the four ingredients means this scales up (or down) very easily. So, uh, I *may* have slipped and rounded up to a full ounce of each for this drink …