INVENTION
40 March 2019 _ PopularMechanics.comILLUSTRATION^BYCLAIRE^ MCCRACKEN↓SPIRITS
THE CRAZY BACKSTORY
WHEN WE STARTED making
aquavit, I wasn’t connected to my
family’s Scandinavian origins.
Due to economic struggles, my
grandfather, now 93 and one
of three brothers, was adopted
by a neighbor (with the last
name Maupin), although he
maintained a close relation-
ship with his brothers and
mother (last name Nielson).
Accepting his adoptive parents
as my great-grandparents, I never
thought much about that history
until recently.
In 2015, my grandfather was
contacted by a group claiming to have dis-
covered the remains of his oldest brother,
Roger Nielson, buried in the sand on a small
island in the South Pacific. Roger went MIA
in the World War II battle of Tarawa (Novem-
ber 20 to 23, 1943)—no one ever knew what
happened to him. My grandfather sub-
mitted a DNA sample that confirmed the
brother’s remains, still intact other than the
fatal bullet entry wound in the skull, which
were exhumed and ceremoniously interred
at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver.
I learned that my grandfather’s biological
mother’s maiden name was Jourgenson, and
it hit me that both of his parents were Scan-
dinavian: Nielson and Jourgenson.
At that point, it made perfect sense that
I’d chosen to make aquavit, a then-obscure
spirit. It was in my DNA all along.THE SIGNATURE SPIRIT
MANY DISTILLERIES START out making
vodka and gin, the most popular clear spir-
its (which don’t require aging). I decided to
incorporate aquavit into our portfolio as
a differentiator, and it’s outsold our vodka
and gin combined.
In addition to the customary clear ver-
sion, we also make the wood-rested Oak
Barrel Reserve. While a few brands may fin-
ish for a short time in an oak barrel, ours is
rested for a longer, whiskey-like duration.We’ve actually had inquiries from Scan-
dinavian bars and restaurants looking to
import our aquavit from Colorado.
We never planned to make a rested aqua-
vit. We had the barrels—new American
white oak at a standard No. 3 char—because
we were planning on entering the whiskey
field. But then decided to experiment.
Honestly, it was sheer dumb luck.THE PROCESS
FEDERAL LAW STATES that the flavor of
aquavit must be led by caraway, dill, or both.
We start with a premium base spirit made
from malted barley that is mashed, fer-
mented, and distilled in-house.
It is double-distilled, with the secondor “finishing” run
the product of fractional
distillation, using a custom-made
20-plate copper Vendome column still,
hot at the bottom and cold at the top (so the
proof increases as the vapor rises within
the columns).
The vapor passes through a suspended
basket of botanicals, and as a solvent, the
alcohol extracts the essential oils and car-
ries the f lavors into the condenser, where
the alcohol in the vapor is cooled and recon-
densed into a liquid.
I’m transparent about our botanical mix:
caraway, fennel, dill, celery, and anise seeds,
and cubeb berry, an Indonesian black pep-
per. But I’m not as willing to part with the
ratio of those ingredients. It took me two
years of due diligence, experimenting on a
benchtop still to determine what t y pe of fla-
vor each botanical imparts. If you want to
fully understand botanical distillation, you
need to put in this work and time.Devil’s Head distiller Ryan White makes
aquavit that’s true to his roots and entirely new.
/ AS TOLD TO FRANCINE MAROUKIAN /Scandinavian Booze
from...
Place a large ice cube
in a rocks glass.
Add six drops of bitters.
Add ¼ oz honey simple
syrup (combine equal
parts honey and water).
Add 2 oz Devil’s Head
aquavit.Run the pith side of an
orange peel around the
rim of the glass. Light
a match, hold directly
over the cocktail, and
squeeze the peel into
the flame. The orange-
peel oils will ignite in a
small burst of flames.
Garnish with the peel.HOW TO DRINK AQUAVIT
Aquavit is traditionally
consumed neat. But its
unique botanical flavor
profile also makes it an
ideal spirit for mixologists
looking to innovate.
THE COCKTAIL
Notes of a Dirty Old Man