Karsk Recipe: Norwegian Coffee with Spirit

Ingredients

5 oz brewed coffee light to medium roast, freshly brewed
1¼ oz vodka traditionally a clear neutral spirite.g. Absolut · Smirnoff · Grey Goose · Ketel One · Belvedere
1 tsp sugar (optional)

Garnish: None · Ice: Served up, no ice

Method

Brew a fairly light pot of coffee.
Pour 150 ml of hot coffee into a warmed mug.
Stir in the sugar if using until dissolved.
Add the vodka, stir once and serve at once.

Watch it made

Karsk

Taste

Hot, dry and bitter from the coffee with a clean alcoholic warmth. Sugar softens the edges; the drink is stronger than it looks.

History and origin

Karsk is strongly associated with Trøndelag in central Norway, where it has long been a rural drink at gatherings, after work outdoors and at celebrations. Traditionally it was made with homemade spirit, which is illegal to produce in Norway as in many countries, so today most people use a legal clear vodka or neutral spirit.

The drink is known for a folk method of measuring: put a coin in the bottom of a cup, pour in coffee until the coin disappears, then add spirit until you can see the coin again. It sounds like a joke, and it makes a very strong drink, but it shows that Karsk is traditionally light coffee and plenty of alcohol. Similar coffee and spirit mixes exist across Scandinavia, such as the Swedish kaffegök.

Bartender tips

Use a lighter roast or slightly weaker brew; dark, strong espresso-style coffee fights with the spirit.
Warm the mug with hot water first so the drink stays hot longer.
Keep the pour moderate: 40 ml of spirit is plenty, far less than the coin method suggests.

Variations

Kaffegök: The Swedish cousin: coffee spiked with brännvin or vodka, often sweetened with sugar.
Aquavit Karsk: Use aquavit instead of vodka for caraway and dill notes, an easy Nordic twist.