Complement Cocktail

This elegant martini style cocktail that introduced aquavit as a unique cocktail ingredient on the Danish cocktail scene when Hardeep Singh Rehal won the Danish Championship in classic cocktails with it back in 2007.

Hardeep engineered the complement cocktail at Bar Rouge, which back then was one of the first prominent cocktail bars in Copenhagen. He continued his career and award spree as bar manager at 1105 before opening his own cocktail night club Blume.

40 ml Plymouth gin
20 ml Aalborg Jubilæums akvavit*
10 ml luxardo maraschino liqueur

Stir. Serve up. Garnish: Maraschino cherry and discarded orange twist.

The savory warm caraway and vanilla notes of the Aalborg “jubilee” akvavit serves as perfect counter weight to the sharp yet sweet cherry stone liqueur and the botanicals of the gin. Together these complementing favors bring depth and complexity to the drink making it a savory winter season martini.

An unusual mix for an award winning cocktail but delightfully different and seductively tasty.

*Aalborg Jubilæums Akvavit was launched to celebrate Isidor Henius – the founding father of the distilling craft in Denmark. The Akvavit includes both caraway and dill seed and is aged on white American oak – a rarity among Danish aquavits – which gives it a nose with hints of caramel and vanilla.

If you are intrigued by the use of aquavit in cocktails download our free ebook on aquavit cocktails to explore further.