Try Chilly Cocktail under Midnight Sun and the delightful dancing lights
FINNMARK, NORWAY: The name Dry Martini sparks with glamour. No other drink has inspired such loyalty and caused feelings to run high. Our visit to the high north brought us to the perfect Arctic Martini of Northern Norway. Arctic Martini is served as the proper union of Norwegian Gin, Italian vermouth and a great glory under the Midnight Sun. Also perfect for winter glamour under the dancing Northern Lights.
As a general advice, Norwegian cool comes at high a price. We ask local experts to share tips for budget fun in the high north of the country. Cocktail-master Per Magnus Haig came up with some key advice. Haigh is running Kvisle Herregård in Norway.
With only two ingredients, this is perhaps the simplest of all cocktails.
My Arctic Martini
My perfect Arctic Martini is made of Norwegian Harahorn gin stirred with ice, until the drink is very cold. Then strain into a cold class with Noilly Prat vermouth. I prefer four parts gin to one-part vermouth.
Harahorn is an almost perfect spirit with 25 different herbs, flowers and plants quite, and incredible texture. Stirred with berry and a hint of vermouth. As a juniper addict, I like my bottle to be kept in the freezer so that the drink is as cold as possible.
Ingrediencies
4 parts Harahorn gin
1-part dry Vermouth
Ice
5-6 Cranberries, Blueberries or Cloudberries
The key and secret
In theory, two ingredients and a garnish are all you need for a martini. Don´t think about swapping out the gin for vodka. In a recipe that leaves nowhere to hide, interesting flavour of gin is always going to win my heart and taste.
Harahorn is a Norwegian gin made with herbs and berries from sea and mountain. Such as junipers, blueberries, rhubarb and seaweed among others. Harahorn from Det Norske Brenneri was in 2019 awarded Gin of the Year in the USA.
Arctic berries
Normally the garnish is twist of lemon peel, or a green olive. In Arctic Martini we prefer fresh and sour berries from Arctic.
The real key to any great martini is that it should all be icy. The secret lies in the methodical stirring for at least half a minute, which binds it, chills it and dilutes it. Remember, your goal is to achieve a chilly drink rather than frozen as James Bond’s heart.
Bar with a View
“This is a super-dry Martini. Simple and fresh as the arctic landscape, clean as the soul of our locals, dry and with flavours matching our humour,” says Ole Kristian Lindbæk. He is retired police living in Tromsø.
His summer-house in the seaside village of Ryggefjord, a rural corner of Finnmark hardly indicated on the map. In the World`s Most Northern Sports Bar – with a view to the island where North Cape is located. A location spot-on to try the most Northern Martini served with a choice of fresh and sour local berries.
Endless days
There can’t be many places where the scenery is quite as dramatic as the coast of Finnmark, where stripped mountains plunge into fjords.
For a break under midnight sun, or snowy holiday under the Northern Lights, peaceful Finnmark is the wilderness. Endless nights in winter. Endless days in summer, with wild flowers compete go make the most of a short season. Here no normal rules apply.
Fish and cocktail
Even better, this area of Norway receives few tourists – most ends in Lofoten and the city of Tromsø. Havøysund is the perfect town for sea fishing, organized by Havøysund Hotell & Rorbuer.
In Havøysund you are guaranteed to be served fresh daily fish and seafood. Don´t forget to order a local Arctic Martini, few thigs are better than getting out of wet clothes and into a dry Martini.
This arctic variant is so cool and clean, plus the extra joy to find five arctic blueberries.
But still the global rule; Stirred, not shaken!
