North Shore’s Aquavit and the Midnight Sun Cocktail

Living about 120 miles from Chicago (at least for another month), the North Shore Distillery products have managed to make their way to at least one local liquor store. North Shore is a small, independent distillery located near Chicago in Lake Bluff, IL. Owned by Derek and Sonja Kassebaum, the distillery is the state’s first bonded and licensed distillery. While North Shore has garnered attention for its gin, vodka, and flavored vodkas, the distillery released the first member of its “artisan collection”. North Shore’s Aquavit - Private Reserve is the first domestic aquavit, reflecting the tenacious nature of the distillery.

By definition, an aquavit’s primary flavor must be derived from caraway. Traditionally a Scandinavian spirit, aquavit pairs well with fish and is usually served chilled. North Shore’s aquavit’s primary ingredients are caraway, cumin, and coriander, but the cardamom and anise come across strongly as well. The aquavit also tastes of subtle citrus flavors and spiced tones. The spirit is aged in new American oak barrels. Despite the distinct yellowish caramel color, the aquavit is not colored. I will be playing around with the aquavit in the next few days, but the spirit itself is intriguing neat and on the rocks. I think the appeal of the spirit will die as the novelty wears off, but currently, I have a new friend.

However, as an avid cocktail enthusiast, the true test of this spirit is the potential it holds for mixing. Traditionally, aquavit rarely appears on any bar shelves. Despite the existence of several cocktails using aquavit, these drinks are lesser-known and have faded into mixology obscurity in the states. Attempting to re-create the aquavit, North Shore offers up the Gingervit, a mixture of aquavit, ginger syrup, orange bitters, and club soda. While this sounds awesome, I was out of ginger syrup (my favorite flavored simple syrup), so I decided to make a Midnight Sun instead.

The drink obviously gets its name from the connection between aquavit and its region of origin. Several recipes for this drink exist on the internet. Absolut gets confused and names two different drinks the Midnight Sun on its website- only one of which has aquavit. Hey, what can you expect from a company who confuses the taste of pears for the taste of ass? As usual, the trusted cocktail database comes to the rescue:

Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain
1 1/2 oz aquavit (4.5 cl, 3/8 gills) - North Shore is preferred
1/2 oz grapefruit juice (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills)
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills)
1/2 tsp sugar (2 dashes)
1/4 oz grenadine (6 dashes, 1/16 gills) - Homemade please
Add orange slice
Serve in a cocktail glass (4.5 oz)

The drink was not just good - it was awesome! I loved how the spiced and herbal flavors of the aquavit interacted with the citrus juices. If you get a chance to try this cocktail do it! I am sure that other aquavits would suffice, but the North Shore product really seems to be extraordinary. I would mention their positive results at the SFSC, but I already made too many claims on that subject! Try the cocktail, but if you have a chance get a bottle of the first domestic aquavit. It doesn’t come from the land of the midnight sun, but the spirit and the cocktail shine nevertheless.