Ever wondered whether it’s really true that the bottle of
Linie Akuavit on your Christmas dinner table was loaded in the hold of a ship
and sailed over the Equator and back?
Well, it’s true, and here’s the story.
In 1805, the cargo ship Trondhjem’s Prøve sailed with goods
to Indonesia, including five oak casks of Norwegian “aqua vitae,” or water of
life, made by distiller Jørgen B. Lysholm. The ship’s captain failed to sell
the casks, and in December 1807 they returned to Trondheim. When the casks were
opened and sampled a second time, Lysholm and friends discovered that the two
years in the casks, plus the constant motion of the ship and the changing
temperature and humidity, all dramatically enhanced the balance and aroma of
their akuavit. Lysholm eventually joined with exporters to South American
markets, regularly stowing oak barrels of akuavit on their ships, not to sell
in Rio, but for the unique benefits of aging at sea.
Today, fresh batches of Linie casked in retired oak sherry barrels
depart once a month for a 19-week voyage that can call in ports in up to 35
countries. On any given day more than one thousand barrels of akuavit are
maturing as deck cargo on the world’s oceans.
Want to know where your bottle has been? It’s all right
there on the backside of the label: dates of departure and arrival, and the
route the akuavit traveled via Australia before returning to Norway.
Ann
Pedersen is editor of Viking magazine. She lives and enjoys akuavit with her family in St.
Paul, Minn.
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