Venus Spirits releases festive new Scandinavian aquavit perfect for winter sipping

It’s a gray December afternoon, and the gloom that threatened at the edges of a blue winter sky all day finally closed in to drench the ground in a cold, persistent rain. Boots are stomped and umbrellas are shaken at the doorway of the Venus Spirits’ inviting Westside Santa Cruz tasting room, where garlands of evergreen branches festooned with dried oranges hang from the ceiling. It’s the perfect weather for drinking aquavit. 

In Scandinavia, where aquavit is traditionally made and enjoyed, it’s a crucial part of any festive gathering. “Aquavit is consumed during the holidays and times of celebration, typically as shots served cold,” says distiller Sean Venus. “You drink one shot of aquavit, and then another one immediately comes around. It’s always enjoyed with food, often things like cured fish and salted cod.” 

But it has remained a niche spirit in America. Here, only a handful of distillers make aquavit, typically near areas with a high concentration of Scandinavian immigrants such as Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis. Venus Spirits in Santa Cruz is the only distiller in California currently making it. It released its first aquavit, Aquavit 01, in 2016, just a few years after the distillery opened. Now, Venus has released a small, 20-case batch of barrel-aged Aquavit 02, and it’s throwing a Scandinavian holiday feast to celebrate. 

“I fell in love with it,” says Venus. The spirit is distilled from grain and flavored with spices and herbs, typically caraway and dill, with caraway as the dominant flavor. Aquavit 01 is made in this tradition, with added botanicals such as orange peel, juniper berries, coriander and star anise. It’s delicate and versatile, and an easy substitution for gin or vodka in cocktails. 

But Venus bucked convention with Aquavit 02 ($38 for a 750-milliter bottle). While aquavit isn’t traditionally barrel-aged, Venus rested this batch in old sherry casks, and incorporated botanicals like cumin, peppery cubeb berry, coriander and lemon peel, as well as the typical caraway. The result is a layered, amber-colored spirit with complex savory notes that play against the vanillin gleaned from the oak. “The cumin with the sherry spice makes a really unusual character,” says Venus. “All these savory notes work well together, and then I always want to have some citrus in there just for some brightness.”

Aquavit 02 can be used in cocktails as a variation on a Manhattan or a Negroni, or sipped on its own on a cold night, allowing the culinary flavors to be slowly pulled apart as it warms you from the inside out.

But since aquavit is best enjoyed in the company of friends, Venus Spirits is hosting a Nordic-themed “Westside Winter Wonderland” dinner party on Thursday, Dec. 14, to celebrate its release. Chef Daisy Keen of Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen Westside is preparing a four-course dinner rooted in Nordic cuisine and inspired by St. Lucia Day, a Scandinavian winter holiday known as the “festival of lights.” Salmon cured in aquavit, Swedish meatballs and venison are on the menu, with desserts made by Fika Bakeshop, a Ben Lomond-based Scandinavian bakery. Both Aquavit 01 and Aquavit 02 will be served, as well as other aquavits from Scandinavia. Only 22 seats were released, and tickets are $125 per person, all inclusive. 

Venus Spirits produced just 20 cases of Aquavit 02, available now at its Westside Santa Cruz tasting room, restaurant and distillery, and at Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen Beachside in Rio Del Mar. 

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