Rating: 14/23 This is only my second aquavit ever, but I have some vague impression that I've read good things about this one. I sure hope so, seeing as I have a bottle this time. I'm expecting heavy caraway flavor, but hopefully in a good way. This has no color, so it's one of the unaged ones (I presume). I do like carraway in rye bread, so I can imagine liking this. N: Bitter with alcohol. It's like the whole of rye bread: the pleasant part and the unpleasant part. Then I get the kind of vegetal funkiness and my opinion deteriorates. The alcohol comes out, along with some more salt and minerals. The nose becomes muddled with a sulphuric note that I really wish were absent. P: Caraway for sure. There's a bite, but that's expected for caraway. The alcohol isn't that easy to taste past the caraway, but I do get some typical flavors and sweetness from it. It's clean though. Some hints of coriander, chamomile, and/or vanilla here, but not a ton. There is something funky, vegetal, rotten, skunky, sulphuric, off. It's faint, but it shows up at times and I do notice it. It disappears quickly enough that the rest of the sip is enjoyable, but I don't miss this problem. Most of the time, my feelings on the palate are positive, but sometimes they drift down a bit. It's unfortunate that there's that strong edge here. Aside from that, this is actually quite nice. Though not that interesting. F: Bitter, rye bread, inescapable, hints of sweetness. It's kind of like the finish is sorry that it has to deal with covering up the casualties that the errors in the balance create. It gives me mob movie vibes a bit, actually. Weird. - Conclusion - There's a really nice core here, but it feels like it's being manipulated to produce other profiles in different situations. It's like drinking a marionette. So weird. I certainly don't dislike this, but I'm not about to go around recommending it. I have plenty of gins that easily surpass this (e.g. New Riff Kentucky Wild (17/23)). This isn't me comparing them as gins: this is a comparison of them based on fundamentals of their genres and lack of flaws. The Botanist (16/23) doesn't have as crisp of a profile as this has, but it's definitely cleaner. I don't see how this could beat a 16 at this point. A 15 seems most likely to be the highest possible rating - which is just what I gave Linie Aquavit (15/23). Side by side, the Linie shows more maturity, with woody flavors of vanillins and oak, as well as an increased mellowness. It's sweeter and more balanced. It's sort of like the Linie is a tequila and this is a mezcal. Actually, I'm getting some real burn here. This is harder to drink than the Linie, but it could be worth more because of the clarity it has. Still, I don't think I'd drink this neat again if I didn't have to. That said, I bet that there are some cocktails that this would work great in. Considering the imbalance in Linie though, even after aging, I think that this is likely to remain a nice product, with some fairly uncommon cocktail uses. I thought about a 15, but I just don't think that this makes that rating. The Linie is a 15 and this is much more challenging and in need of refinement in order to be used. This might be a 14. It's bitter and funky, but it's also it's own thing. I'm thinking a 14 or a 15. This is pretty challenging, but it definitely does shout aquavit, so I appreciate it like I do a juniper-heavy gin. OK, big news here - this is great in a martini with Rivata Dry Vermouth! Holy cow. I never saw that coming. Dry vermouth is so hard to pair with anything and I've rarely found a martini that I thought was better than just neat gin. I really like this cocktail, but that doesn't improve my rating here since this isn't a mixer and I...have rules, I guess.