Short & Boozy

Also called akvavit this 'water of life; is a flavored spirit that is mostly produced in Scandinavia, since the 15th century. It is a grain or potato spirit base, and can be flavored with many herbs and spices. EU laws dictate it must be mostly flavored by caraway or dill. A common brand of caraway aquavit is Linie. You can actually make this yourself (or something very similar) here is a recipe from the book 'Akvavit' by Rasmus Risum-Urth: Toast in a pan: 2g cardamom, 8g pine nuts, 10g caraway, 1.5g cinnamon bark, 0.5g star anise, 2g pink peppercorns. Add spices to 500ml of vodka and sous vide for 2 hours at 60C (or just let steep for a week). Strain off solids and add 1.5L gin.

An intensely bitter herbal spirit originally in Denmark but now produced in Norway. Typically drank in Nordic countries at festivals and celebrations but also consumed at breakfast. Translates directly to 'Old Danish.'

A syrup made from dissolving granulated sugar (sucrose) in water. Regular simple is made by combining 1:1 sugar:water by mass, rich simple is 2:1 sugar:water by mass although only 1.5 times as sweet as regular. We always use 1:1 syrup unless otherwise noted in the recipe itself.

A pale or golden colored lager beer, made with water Pilsner malt and Noble hops. Pale lagers tend to be dry, lean, clean-tasting and crisp. In the case of Saisons, this is a farmhouse style pale ale that is meant to be crisp and refreshing.

A concentrated aromatic bitters made in Trinidad from water, ethanol, gentian and other herbs and spices; used in many classic cocktails like the Manhattan.

Often used to rim a glass for cocktails or made into a solution to add to the liguid itself in order to balance the flavors. Table salt or common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite.