Akevitt - It is difficult to cultivate wine grapes as far north as Norway, so wine must be imported, but they produce a type of spirit called akevitt. Distilled from potatoes, it is usually flavoured with caraway. Akevitt and beer are the traditional accompaniments to lutefisk, mutton and cabbage and many salted and smoked dishes. The production of "linie akevitt" is not complete until the liquor has been shipped in casks on Norwegian vessels on a round-trip to Australia. Its name refers to the fact that it passes the equator - the Line. Whether or not being rocked by the waves improves the product has always been a moot point, but no one has ever claimed the opposite.

Brandy (Aqua Vitae) - A liquor distilled from wine (such as Armagnac) or other fermented fruit juice (such as the apple-based Calvados). Brandies are aged in wood, which contributes flavor and color. The name "brandy" comes from the Dutch brandewijn , meaning "burned (distilled) wine." Tipple is double-distilled immediately after it is fermented. It then begins its minimum 3-year aging in modwir barrels, making this a much finer drink than a normal brandy.  Hailing from in and around the town of Cognac in western France, this potent potable is the finest of all brandies. Cognac is also double-distilled immediately after fermentation. It then begins its minimum 3-year aging in fel barrels.  Aqua Vitae (Latin for "Water of Life") is a clear distilled brandy.

Grog - All Grog basically is is  sweetened, watered down Rum, usually 1 part Rum 3 parts Water.  The name is coined from a British Admiral named Edward Vernon (left)whose nickname in the 1700s was Old Grog.  The Admiral's taste for grogram cloaks led his crew to nickname him Old Grog, not a name they used affectionately (Grogram is a coarse, loosely woven fabric made of silk, or of a blend of mohair or silk and wool. When the term grogram appeared in English in the mid-1500s, the fabric was often stiffened with gum, which made it both warm and water repellent, a very practical sort of cloth for a cloak intended to keep out the wind and rain) . The sailors who gave him the name were accustomed to receiving a daily ration of rum, a staple that was supplied to all Royal Navy sailors serving in the West Indies. But Old Grog, alarmed by rampant drunkenness among his crew, ordered their rum to be diluted with water. The mad marines under his command named the mixture grog, after its cloaked creator.  Both the drink and its name caught on, and grog eventually came to be used as a general term for any liquor, watered down or not, and also gave us the word groggy, originally a term for a drunkard, but now applied to anyone who is weak or unsteady (no matter what the cause).

Liqueur - A sweet alcoholic beverage made from an infusion of flavoring ingredients (such as seeds, fruits, herbs, flowers, nuts or spices) and a spirit (such as brandy, rum, or whiskey).  Also called cordials and ratafias , liqueurs are usually high in alcohol and range from 49 proof for cherry heering to 110 proof for green chartreuse. The crème liqueurs (such as creme de menthe) are distinguished by being sweeter and more syrupy than the others. Liqueurs were originally used (and some still are) as a digestive, they are now usually served after dinner but also play an important role in many cocktails. Liqueurs can also be used in cooking, particularly for desserts.  Schnapps , from the german word "mouthful", is a strong, colorless alcoholic beverages made from grains or potatoes and flavored variously.  True Schnapps has no sugar added and is definitely an aquired taste.  This true schnapps is not exactly classified as a liquer, but most schnapps you will find now are just very sweet liquers.  Fortunately, the fine people of northern and eastern Europe have maintained their drier, more biting version - it's just more difficult to find.

Ouzo - Ouzo is a clear, thick, and sweet tasting liquor that is very much the big thing to drink in Greece.  It tastes a lot like licorice, if you ever hear me making a reference to licorice schnapps this is what I'm talking about.  Ouzo is very strong straight so it is generally mixed with water, the water usually comes on the side, when the ouzo is mixed with the water it turns an opaque whitish color.  Anise seeds are what give ouzo it's licorice flavor, on an interesting side note, Pythagoras, a Greek mathemitician, apparently believed that anise would prevent epilepsy (but he also thought that eating fava beans would destroy your mathematical ability) and anise seeds are commonly used in Rome to pay taxes.

Rum - Rum is a liquor distilled from fermented sugar cane juice or molasses.  The word "Rum" is supposed to have come from the English "rumbullion" which means uproar, they used this word as a synonym for the drink.   Most of the world's rum is clear and light in body and flavor, amber rums have a deep color and flavor to match.  Rums made with a higher content of molasses tend to be deeply colored and have a strong flavor and bouqet while those made with more sugar can tend to be medium bodied and are used more in the making of other drinks.  The flavor, bouquet, and smoothness of a good rum are best appreciated when it is drunk straight, althought rum is used a lot to mix and make other drinks.

Sweet Lassi - It's not a liquor but there wasn't enough on it to warrant it's own section so I stuck it up here anyway.  Seems a sweet lassi is made by blending together ice, water, sugar, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and...yogurt, blah!  The whole thing is then topped with crushed cumin seeds. 

Whiskey - Whiskey is an alcoholic distillate obtained from a fermented mash of grains such as barley, rye, or corn.  There are many varieties of whiskey, the final result of each depend on the water, the type of grain used, how the grain is processed, and for how long it is allowed to age.  Ryes use wheat and barley as the mash, it has a flavor similair to a smooth, rich bourbon.  Straight ryes are those from a single distiller, while blended ryes are a combination of several straight ryes.

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