Skandidrinking!
On this blog, we do many things. We share seasonal recipes, we venture into cooking in addition to baking, and we sometimes even get out of our comfort zone by creating brand new recipes! One thing we don’t do enough of, though, is sharing drink recipes! Cocktails are so fun to create, as you can get really creative and imaginative with the combination of flavors. We love to think up a drinks menu to go along with a food menu we create for any event. That’s why for Christmas, we are all about the aquavit, as this is a popular spirit in Scandinavia and pairs nicely with Scandinavian food.
Today’s Recipe
Today, we are sharing our recipe for a lingonberry aquavit soda. You may be wondering, what in the world is a lingonberry? Well, it is a tart berry that is somewhat similar to a cranberry, and it is very popular in Scandinavia. Swedes, for example, love to serve their famous köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) with lingonberry jam. The sharpness of the fruit just cuts through rich and hearty flavors so well. Anyway, every time we go to IKEA, we love to buy their elderflower concentrate as well as their lingonberry concentrate, because they are great for cocktails! If you can’t get ahold of these, though, feel free to use lingonberry jam or another tart fruit jam in this cocktail instead.
Now, you may also be wondering, what is aquavit? This is a spirit beloved by the Scandinavians as well, and it is produced from potatoes, similarly to vodka. However, it is typically flavored with caraway, which certainly sets it apart from vodka in flavor. You can use aquavit if you have it, but you can also substitute this for vodka or gin – both would also work really well in this recipe!
Making this Drink
To be honest, you barely need a recipe to make this cocktail. It is super simple: combine your spirit of choice, lingonberry concentrate, and lemon juice in a glass with ice. Stir until well-mixed and cool, then add club soda on top and garnish with some lemon. This is the perfect cocktail for pre-Christmas dinner snacks, or even if you plan on hosting a New Year’s Eve gathering this year. You could also make a big batch of the aquavit-lingonberry-lemon mixture ahead of time, and then let people top off their drinks with club soda themselves. We hope you try it out and as always, please leave a comment below if you do!
Lingonberry Aquavit Soda
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz aquavit (if you can't find aquavit or don't like the taste, you can substitute this with vodka!)
- 3/4 oz lingonberry concentrate (we use the one from IKEA; you can also use lingonberry jam and a bit of simple syrup if you can't find a lingonberry concentrate! Just make sure you combine all ingredients minus the club soda in a shaker and then strain into a glass to get rid of any solids!)
- 1/2 oz lemon juice
- Sparkling water or club soda
- Lemon slice (for garnish)
Instructions
- Add ice to a glass.
- Combine aquavit, lingonberry concentrate, and lemon juice in the glass.
- Stir to combine. Top with sparkling water or club soda to taste; stir again.
- Garnish with a lemon slice (optional) and enjoy!
Do you have any suggestions for making this non-alcoholic?
Hi! Honestly, I would just omit the alcohol – the combo of lingonberry concentrate, lemon juice, and club soda will taste pretty much the same 🙂 Hope that helps!