Spirit of the North: Cocktail Recipes & Stories from Scandinavia

What could possibly be better than sharing and enjoying in life’s simpler pleasures with friends and loved ones?

This idea is at the heart of the Scandinavian lifestyle trends that many in contemporary culture have come to embrace. In an ever-present, all-encompassing quest to create this “just right” feeling when entertaining guests, star mixologist Selma Slabiak celebrates her Danish heritage by combining her personal and professional ethos for conviviality and togetherness with her expert, innovative knowledge of foraging and farm-to-table practice to present inventive drink and cocktail recipes in one multi- faceted book. Slabiak shares with her readers elevated bartending expertise and finesse, layering familiar and unusual flavors and ingredients, along with Scandinavian traditions and nostalgic stories from her childhood in Denmark, in an inspiring, delicious, and original recipe book of Nordic-based cocktails—so we can all capture the extraordinary in the everyday.

• Over 30 recipes for an enticing and creative array of artisanal cocktails, mixed drinks (alcoholic and non- alcoholic), and special snacks, utilizing seasonal and  locally-sourced ingredients for all seasons and occasions
• Includes instructive and helpful sidebars on foraging and pickling ingredients—whether from your local wilderness, farmer’s market, or grocery store
• Author Selma Slabiak shares personal stories and anecdotes from growing up in Denmark and relays rich Nordic traditions and mythology that inspire and inform her original recipe creations
• Incorporates joyous Scandinavian life philosophies such as hygge (‘cozy contentment’), lagom (‘finding balance’), friluftstliv (‘appreciation and engagement of nature and the outdoors’), and fika (‘coffee break’), amongst others
• For the home entertainer and bartender, experienced mixologist, as well as anyone fascinated and inspired by the new Nordic cuisine movement via creative cocktails and drinks

Born and raised in Denmark, Selma Slabiak came to New York in 2007 to make a name for herself in the cocktail world. Since then, she has been Head Bartender at acclaimed Michelin-starred Nordic restaurant, Aska, overseeing the innovative bar program. With other stints at Donna Cocktail Club and various esteemed cocktail bars in Brooklyn and Manhattan, she has been crafting original and exciting drink menus rooted in Nordic ingredients and techniques. She shares her love of nature and storytelling through her medium of choice—the mixed drink.