Monday, October 12, 2009
Uncap / Sniff / Release
9:16 PM | Posted by
kelesney |
Today we had a minor 'intruder alert'. Friends were over to discuss architecture and saw my bottles infusing away and grabbed one. Within seconds...the first bottle was uncapped, raised to inhale it's intoxicating fumes and found virgin release of its wonderful flavors to someone other than me. I was initially taken aback from the intrusion; but, was pleasantly surprised to discover that this one batch was doing well after finding myself breathing its ether.
With the rest of the bottle shaken and turned to diffuse their flavors even more...I await the time for their final filtration and rebottling for the Juletide festivities.
PDFWednesday, October 7, 2009
Tips from Aalborg Akvavit: Spiced Aquavit
Collecting the fragrant berries and herbs is part of the adventure, when making homemade aquavit. Herbs can be found everywhere in the Danish countryside, but mostly in the area around the Liim Fiord. Here, in the beautiful, undisturbed countryside between fiord and sea runs “Snapseruten” (the Aquavit Trail). Take a book with good images and descriptions of the plants along with you – or go to www.snapseruten.dk (available in Danish, Swedish and German) and read up on some good tips on precisely where to find the various herbs.
1. Herbs and berries
Go out and pick herbs and berries when the morning mist has lifted. The more ripe they are, the more flavoursome. Use a basket for your harvest, clean it and lay the herbs and berries in a lidded jar.
2. The essence
To make spiced aquavit, concentrate on the essences. You release essences by filling a jar or empty aquavit bottle with one type of herb or berry, then filling it with BRØNDUMS Snaps or BRØNDUMS Snaps Klar. Put the lid on the jar so it is airtight and allow the essence to extract. The infusion time will vary. As a rule of thumb, fresh and dried herbs should be filtered out after a week at most, while berries, fruits and roots should soak for a week to six months.
3. Filtering and aging
When the essence has been extracted, it must be filtered using a coffee filter or cloth. Then pour the purified essence into a decorative bottle and set it aside for aging. As a rule of thumb, the less sweet berries and nuts – juniper and walnuts, for example – improve the longer they are aged. The flavour components will develop, impurities fall to the bottom and certain essences will also take on a beautiful golden hue. On the other hand, nothing is gained by allowing juicy berries like strawberries to age for long.
4. Taste testing
Should the essence be allowed to age for longer, or is it ready to drink? In this case there is only one thing to do: Close your eyes, taste it and rely on the sensations in your stomach.
5. Serving
Invite family and friends around for homemade aquavit and something tasty from the kitchen. Put the essence on the table and dilute to taste with BRØNDUMS Snaps or BRØNDUMS Snaps Klar. Every essence tastes fantastic on it own, but blending is also allowed. However, flavours can become muddled if you blend too many essences, which makes the aquavit taste of everything and nothing. One or two – and rarely more – herbs and berries that go together well will give the best “little taste”to your good company. Honey can be used to strengthen the flavour.
PERSONAL NOTE: Since Brøndums Snaps is unavailable, use potato vodka as the base.
Monday, October 5, 2009
RECIPE Hour: MELISSA LEO (Aquavit/Akvavit + OJ)
THE MELISSA LEO
MAKES4 DRINKSACTIVE TIME:5 MIN
START TO FINISH:25 MIN
GOURMET: FEBRUARY 2009
Inspired by the tough, no-nonsense characters Leo has played in her career, this cocktail includes equal parts orange juice and aquavit—a union of sweet citrus and herbaceous spirit—rounded out by orange liqueur, lime juice, and a bit of vanilla extract. Crushed ice nods to the landscape of the film for which she was nominated, Frozen River, while a curly strip of orange zest pays whimsical tribute to the actor’s reddish-brown locks.
1 (4- by 1/2-inch) strip orange zest (remove with a vegetable peeler)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
8 oz (1 cup) chilled aquavit such as Linie or O.P. Anderson
4 oz (1/2 cup) Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or triple sec
8 oz (1 cup) chilled fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Crushed ice
• Cut orange-zest strip lengthwise into 4 equal pieces.
• Bring sugar and water to a simmer in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Transfer syrup to a very small bowl and add zest strips. Soak 5 minutes.
• Remove strips from syrup, reserving syrup, and coil around a chopstick or a pencil. Let strips dry until set, about 15 minutes. Remove from chopstick.
• Stir together aquavit, Cointreau, juices, vanilla, and 1 tsp reserved sugar syrup.
• Fill 4 cocktail glasses with crushed ice and divide aquavit mixture among them. Garnish with orange curls.
Skaal!
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