Linie Aquavit

Aquavit is a spirit distilled from potato or grain and flavoured with caraway, dill, fennel, anise and other botanicals, drunk in small glasses with fatty festive food across Scandinavia. Linie is the version whose casks travel: in 1805 a shipment of aquavit sent to the East Indies came back unsold, and the owners found the sea voyage had improved it, so the practice was formalised. Casks of sherry oak now travel on container ships from Norway across the equator to Australia and back, crossing the line twice over about four and a half months, with the motion, temperature swings and humidity accelerating the interaction between spirit and wood. Every bottle carries the ship's name and the dates of the voyage.

What to look for

• The voyage label - each bottle showing the ship, route and dates.
• The sherry casks - oak that held sherry before the aquavit.
• The equator crossings - two passages of the line over roughly four months.
• The caraway character - the botanical profile shared with other aquavits.

When to go

Year-round; aquavit belongs with Christmas food, lutefisk and pinnekjott in December, and with festive meals through the year. The Trondheim producer offers tastings and tours by arrangement.

Things to know

The claim that the voyage improves the spirit is producer tradition rather than settled fact, though the conditions do affect maturation. Aquavit is strong and its caraway profile is not to everyone's taste. Prices in Norway are high because of alcohol duty, and sales are through the state monopoly.

Nearby

Trondheim holds the producer and its visitor programme; aquavit accompanies festive meals across the country.