Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

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kmmuellr
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Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by kmmuellr »

Not sure if this is the right place to post or not, but hopefully someone can help me out. My father-in-law's dad immigrated to the United States from Sweden, and he is all about his Swedish heritage. Every dinner we have over at his house he pours different aquavits. I love the stuff.

I remember the very first Christmas that I joined them after I was married (like 25 years ago). We killed one bottle that we had a half shot of that was like Everclear, but w/ some flavor. HIGH alcohol, it really heated you up. I remember sweating, and my wife said the heat was pouring off of me! He still talks about it, and calls it "Brun Vin", and says it was 185 proof. I couldn't begin to tell you what flavors it had. He brought it up last time we were together working at his hunting property.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Is there a traditional, high-strength Scandinavian or Swedish liquor that is not Aquavit or is a derivative? Any education or recipes would be appreciated!

I'd love to make some aquavit and "brun vin" for him!

Thanks!
K
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still_stirrin
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by still_stirrin »

Is this it.... https://www.swedishfood.com/brannvin “burn wine”, it is.

Here’s a recipe: https://www.swedishfood.com/swedish-dri ... /167-snaps

A start at least. The internet helps....if you look.
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kmmuellr
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by kmmuellr »

Yeah, I was hoping someone had heard of a high-proof version. Its nothing I've ever found online.

K
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Berserk
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by Berserk »

Yeah, just as SS says he's probably talking about 'brännvin'.

The thing is brännvin is just a Swedish word for some kind of destilate. Vodka is brännvin, akvavit is brännvin and so on.

As a Swede I'm not aware of any traditional Swedish brännvin with a distinctly high alcohol content, except maybe 'hembränt' (moonshine).

My guess is that it's some kind of spiced distillate as most traditional Swedish liquors tend to be just that. Could be a bäsk, they're wormwood spiced brännvin which I personally find horrendous, but they do burn.

Do you remember anything else? What was the colour of the liquor? Any specific taste?
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NZChris
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by NZChris »

At 185 proof, does it really matter what the herbs were? That strength wrecks my taste buds and it seems like I'm only tasting the blood from my tongue. Be aware that drinking high proof liquor damages cells in the mouth and oesophagus and that anything that causes cell damage can trigger bad outcomes.

If he, or you, can remember any of the flavors, start there. If not, research what botanicals were likely to be used and throw something together in a mini still. They may well include caraway, cumin, and fennel. What you get off the still is likely to be around 160 proof and that is still too high for safety unless you are so old that taking up a new bad habit doesn't matter. Dilute it to 100 proof and see if he likes it.

Keep good records and adjust your recipe and method each time you make it.
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by NZChris »

My wild guess is that "Vin" means that it was made using a grape spirit.
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by Berserk »

NZChris wrote: Thu Nov 05, 2020 11:02 pm My wild guess is that "Vin" means that it was made using a grape spirit.
You're correct, vin means wine. Brännvin literally means burned wine. It is however not made from grapes or fruit, probably due to the Scandinavian climate being to cold. Traditionally Swedish brännvin is made from grains or potato.

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VLAGAVULVIN
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by VLAGAVULVIN »

NZChris wrote: Thu Nov 05, 2020 11:02 pm My wild guess is that "Vin" means that it was made using a grape spirit.
How about "khlebnoye vino" / "bread wine" then?.. Grape, loafs, both? ;)

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NZChris
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by NZChris »

In that case, start with a grain spirit. I try to always have a lightly flavored grain spirit available for this type of experiment.
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Swedish Pride
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by Swedish Pride »

if it was 185 Proof, it was homemade, can't buy it that strong in the shop in sweden
I would bet it's made from sugar as most homemade booze would be there
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by kmmuellr »

I appreciate everyone's input!!
Berserk wrote: Thu Nov 05, 2020 10:46 am Yeah, just as SS says he's probably talking about 'brännvin'.

The thing is brännvin is just a Swedish word for some kind of destilate. Vodka is brännvin, akvavit is brännvin and so on.

As a Swede I'm not aware of any traditional Swedish brännvin with a distinctly high alcohol content, except maybe 'hembränt' (moonshine).

My guess is that it's some kind of spiced distillate as most traditional Swedish liquors tend to be just that. Could be a bäsk, they're wormwood spiced brännvin which I personally find horrendous, but they do burn.

Do you remember anything else? What was the colour of the liquor? Any specific taste?
Unfortunately I don't remember anything other that that it was definitely high-proof, and I'm pretty sure it was clear. My face was red, and I was sweating. That didn't happen w/ the other akavits that he served me over the years. If I recall correctly (and that was the only time I saw the botte, and it was probably 25 years ago), it was a green Alborg bottle. Maybe someone put some flavored 'shine in it?

I sent him a few links about brannvin via email, and this was his response. He's 80 now, and it would appear that his memory is going!

"I have a very different take on all that, I think it depends on where in the country you are from. As far as I have heard from my relatives in Småland,, brannvin, Akavit & vodka are completely different drinks. Akavit is distilled from fermented potatoes, then flavored with herbs & spices to cover up the otherwise unpleasant taste. The proof is typically 80 to 90. Brannvin is distilled from a fruit, usually black berries or black currents & retains some of that flavor, or it may be added back in after distilling. It is a minimum proof of 180 but may go as high as 194. These are very old traditional drinks. Vodka is a relative newcomer to the Swedes I know, because it came in from outside the country, I don't think there was much produced within the country prior to WWII. Snaps is not a specific drink per se, just anything you drink along with your bitar (small tidbits] like the herring, sardines, sausage, cheese , etc, It can be whisky, vodka, or preferably akavit with herring . Brannvin is drunk just to get drunk as fast as possible. Vodka & gin is usually used in mixed drinks. Scotch or brandy is strictly an after dinner drink with kaffe & a fine cigar."

Definitely NOT what I read when I was googling around, and a lot of that is wrong. No sense arguing w/ him though!

Regardless, my goal is to get a neutral done here in the next two weeks, so I can play around and get an akavit to share over Christmas. Then we can play w/ his memory, and I'll try to get a "brannvin" like what he remembers.

Thanks again for the input!
K
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VLAGAVULVIN
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by VLAGAVULVIN »

Very logical and consistent description, I wish I had the memory like his in my 80... :thumbup:

So, hembränt = homeburnt, literally?

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NZChris
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by NZChris »

Adding chilli will heat up a drink without the need for stupidly high abv, but it will give it some color.

Try a run with the botanicals I suggested, (plus some chilli?), then steep the hottest chilli you can find in it for a few hours.

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Swedish Pride
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by Swedish Pride »

VLAGAVULVIN wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 6:26 pm
So, hembränt = homeburnt, literally?
Spot on :thumbup:
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Re: Scandinavian liquor - not Aquavit

Post by VLAGAVULVIN »

Swedish Pride wrote: Sat Nov 07, 2020 12:27 am Spot on :thumbup:
It was rather easy :)

That's much more difficult:
Jag räckte honom passet och ställde resväskan på det vita skranket. Tullaren bläddrade hastigt igenom sidorna med långa, varsamma fingrar. Han var iklädd vit uniform med silverknappar och med silversnoddar på axlarna. Han lade ifrån sig passet och kände på resväskan med fingertopparna.
„Det var lustigt“, sade han, „Överdraget har inte torkat än. Det är svårt att föreställa sig, att det någonstans kan vara dåligt väder.“
:oops:

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