Is it Akvavit, Akevitt or Aquavit?
Despite how you may have seen throughout various countries and brands, the Etymology of the iconic Scandinavian spirit harkens back to the poetic latin ‘Aqua Vitae’ meaning ‘Water of Life.’
You may have found yourself, at one point or another, slightly confused about the difference between the use of the various spellings for Aquavit.
This sense of curious bewilderment is completely understandable, however, as there are no hard and fast rules that govern the distinctions between them. While various forms of the spirit can be drawn back to the middle-ages, Aquavit, Akevitt or Akvavit have been a staple part of Scandinavian culture going back to the 1500’s–as the spirit became more of a cultural mainstay and the various languages assimilated the latin Aqua Vitae into their own languages.
The confusion is even further exemplified by the fact that the spirit also has specific flavour and process characteristics that are local to each country.
This sense of curious bewilderment is completely understandable, however, as there are no hard and fast rules that govern the distinctions between them. While various forms of the spirit can be drawn back to the middle-ages, Aquavit, Akevitt or Akvavit have been a staple part of Scandinavian culture going back to the 1500’s–as the spirit became more of a cultural mainstay and the various languages assimilated the latin Aqua Vitae into their own languages.
The confusion is even further exemplified by the fact that the spirit also has specific flavour and process characteristics that are local to each country.
Traditionally, Danish Akvavit is a clear rectified spirit that has stronger profiles of caraway and dill. Norwegian Akevitt tends to have heavy notes of anise, and can often be found as brown spirits due to the contemporary Norwegian propensities to borrow casting processes from whisky making. Swedish Akvavit is known to have a more mild flavour, with notes of dill, caraway and fennel. Finnish aquavit can found a cinnamon flavour.
Similar to the confusion that occurs around the spelling of “whiskey” or “whisky,” the naming convention for Aquavit is purely subjective, as each of the respective countries have brands that defy norms and use an alternative spelling. For us, while we are a Danish company, we have chosen to forgo the traditional Danish spelling “Akvavit” for the English spelling.