Nordic Gins Are the Most Exciting Trend in Spirits Right Now

Distiller Stig Bareksten forages most of the twenty-six botanicals for his gin from Norway’s wilds himself. He hangs rhubarb, arnica, elderflowers, rosehips, mint, and citrus peels in a basket in his still, their fragrant essential oils captured in swirling vapors. He infuses the remaining ingredients — including astringent juniper, bitter orris root, lingonberries, and blueberries for sweet viscosity — directly into the potato-based distillate, his small copper pot running a full nine hours, slowly building flavor and a weighty mouthfeel, augmented by his country’s silky glacial water.

For this alchemy, Bareksten, cohost of PBS’ People of the North, takes inspiration from the hulder, wood nymphs who are said to live among the roots of ancient oaks in Norwegian forests. “If you ask me, I’d say they are real,” he says. That’s the kind of story I like with my Martini. Atop his gin’s waves of flavor, Bareksten’s process adds mysticism to a cocktail. The vibe is just one reason I’m enthralled by Nordic gins.

The gin revolution across Scandinavia has been such a phenomenon that a museum show was built around it. In Sweden, I sipped libations like Fotografiska’s floral pickled-plum Martini made with Stockholms Bränneri gin. Then I got a guided tour of the Spritmuseum’s gin exhibit with drinks expert Nadja Karlsson.

“If someone had said 20 years ago that you could distill gin in the middle of Stockholm, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Karlsson told me. “Now there are over 60 Swedish distilleries, all using local flavors.”

It’s the same in Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Oslo-born Sondre Kasin, director of bars for New York City’s COTE, UnderCOTE, and COQODAQ, cites the loosening of temperance laws after Nordic countries joined the European Union, plus the Gin and Tonic’s migration north, where it’s popular “as an easy drink to make at home.”

Like the chefs who pioneered New Nordic cuisine, Scandinavian distillers “have been leading in the use of local ingredients,” says Kasin. “The gins have a bolder botanical style, yet they taste clean.”

Kasin makes a Gin Sonic, a dry, refreshing gin-and-tonic riff that swaps soda water for half the tonic, with Harahorn Gin from Norway. It’s berry-forward and round but with a contrasting salinity, in this case from seaweed pulled from northern waters. Grapefruit juice adds a soft bitterness to the drink, while dill sprigs match the gin’s herbaceous juniper, angelica, and wild marjoram notes.

In Kasin’s Nordic Gibson, a more traditional Nordic spirit, aquavit, bumps up the earthy caraway in Bareksten’s eponymous gin. Given their short growing season, Scandinavians excel at pickling, and Kasin’s housemade cocktail onion plays on more of the gin’s flavors, with cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, and herbaceous green Chartreuse in the brine. Commingling loads of strong aromas, the drink has a brooding yet delicious intensity. Like his gin, says Bareksten, “Scandinavia is dark but playful.” That’s a magical combination in a cocktail.

Bareksten Botanical Gin ($35)

Bold herbaceous flavors and a full mouthfeel define this luscious, Martini-ready gin from Norway. Pair it with a citrus-forward dry vermouth to brighten everything up.

Hernö Old Tom Gin ($40)

Strong herbal aromas — juniper, pine flowers — balance out this Swedish gin’s sweetness, adding vibrancy to a Tom Collins.

Stockholms Bränneri Dry Gin ($32)

This is lighter and more delicate than other Nordic gins but has a big bouquet of elderflower and heather overlaying classic gin spices.

Purity Organic Craft Nordic Gin ($20)

Lavender lends a grassy, floral pungency to the nose and bittersweetness to the finish of this organic dry gin from Sweden.

Kyrö Dark Rye Gin ($40)

Spicy with rye and briny from sea buckthorn, this Finnish gin is also cask-aged — it makes a full-bodied, rich-flavored Negroni.