Nothing goes down better with your sustainably-harvested shrimp pizza than Kevin Z’s homemade Aquavit! Its a very simple recipe modified from a brilliant norwegian cookbook I own called Kitchen of Light. It is a fascinating book, providing great recipes, beautiful photos of Scandinavia, stories and background on several of the meals. The fish recipes in there are to die for!

Growlers are a great vessel in which to make aquavit!

For this you will need:
1. 725mL Vodka, Absolut of course!
2. Lemon, Lime and Orange peel. I use the full peel of lime and orange, but only half the peel of the lemon as my first batch, the lemon was overpowering.
3. 1 tablespoon each of Fennel seed and Caraway Seed (you can add anise or tarragon too, if you swing that way)

I mixed all the ingredients in a separate container, but you can let them marinate in the vodka jar if there is enough room. A couple shots ought to clear out enough space for the ingredients! I let it marinate for a few days to a week in a sunny spot.

The golden color is very nice. After it is done marinating, next comes the filtering. I reused some nice bottles my dutch and japanese neighbors and I emptied out over the course of a few months of Mahjong. Oh yummy Beerenburger, why did it have to end!

I filtered the liquid using a funnel and coffee filter. You’ll have to remove the rinds periodically. I’ll think of a better system later.

The result is golden, smooth treat. This has been providing the liquid inspiration for my Spineless Songs (see my La Musique Profonde at Deep Sea News). The aroma is real nice and the hints of fennel and citrus make it a very pleasurable beverage. I accidentally left my bottle at my boss’ home after a lab dinner party and never saw it again! She brought into work but wouldn’t let out of her office LOL. Though this is some seriously tasty material, it is not quite perfect yet. My next batch, I will play around and tweak the flavor, maybe add a little hint of clove and more orange peel.