Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:27 am
What a funny pic, sea-nile, how sweet you all are.
MTW something about snaps (from wikipedia):
"Snaps is a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal, very much like the German schnapps. Drinking snaps is a tradition in Scandinavia, especially in Denmark and Sweden.
A snaps is usually brændevin/brännvin (which may be vodka or akvavit), but can also be some other light-bodied spirit, as long as it isn't sweet. Snaps is usually distilled from grain or potato and is, in its raw form, without fragrance. Most snaps have flavour added as a part of the production or later. This can come from storing in casks or by adding, for example, herbs. The flavour of the spirit should be in harmony with the flavour of the meal. Spirits such as whisky or brandy are never drank as snaps.
Danes, Swedes and Swedish-speaking Finns have a tradition of singing songs, drikkeviser/snapsvisor, before drinking snaps. The drikkevise/snapsvisa is typically an ode to the joys of snaps and praises its flavour, or expresses a craving for the drink.
Snaps (and drikkeviser/snapsvisor) are an inseparable part of crayfish parties, which are notoriously tipsy affairs, even by Swedish and Finnish standards. This is not a surprise, since dozens of songs might be sung during such a meal, and every song demands a round of snaps. However, the glass does not need to be emptied every time and it is recommended not to drink the snaps too fast. An entrée consisting of sild/sill (pickled herring) and potatoes is most typically served with snaps, as is also the infamous Swedish surströmming, which most people can't stomach and which some find impossible to swallow without an accompanying snaps. This heritage comes from the brännvinsbord, an archaic Swedish entrée"
We didn't sing songs yesterday, but snaps is very strong - 45%, so sometimes you are singing after some glasses
. Every time you drink you say "skål", which means something like "cheers".
Linne
MTW something about snaps (from wikipedia):
"Snaps is a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal, very much like the German schnapps. Drinking snaps is a tradition in Scandinavia, especially in Denmark and Sweden.
A snaps is usually brændevin/brännvin (which may be vodka or akvavit), but can also be some other light-bodied spirit, as long as it isn't sweet. Snaps is usually distilled from grain or potato and is, in its raw form, without fragrance. Most snaps have flavour added as a part of the production or later. This can come from storing in casks or by adding, for example, herbs. The flavour of the spirit should be in harmony with the flavour of the meal. Spirits such as whisky or brandy are never drank as snaps.
Danes, Swedes and Swedish-speaking Finns have a tradition of singing songs, drikkeviser/snapsvisor, before drinking snaps. The drikkevise/snapsvisa is typically an ode to the joys of snaps and praises its flavour, or expresses a craving for the drink.
Snaps (and drikkeviser/snapsvisor) are an inseparable part of crayfish parties, which are notoriously tipsy affairs, even by Swedish and Finnish standards. This is not a surprise, since dozens of songs might be sung during such a meal, and every song demands a round of snaps. However, the glass does not need to be emptied every time and it is recommended not to drink the snaps too fast. An entrée consisting of sild/sill (pickled herring) and potatoes is most typically served with snaps, as is also the infamous Swedish surströmming, which most people can't stomach and which some find impossible to swallow without an accompanying snaps. This heritage comes from the brännvinsbord, an archaic Swedish entrée"
We didn't sing songs yesterday, but snaps is very strong - 45%, so sometimes you are singing after some glasses
. Every time you drink you say "skål", which means something like "cheers".Linne
But I did get up to a big bunch of Reeses peanut butter eggs, my fave 
to attend a Danish Julefrokost last year, as I was in Copenhagen on a meeting. I was surpriced that our gang (which was a group of 20 normally nice, intelligent, well behaved Swedes, Danes and Norweigan people) was not thrown out from the place. The restaurant itself was also to blame, as they served the food very slow, but the snaps all the time. We had to wait like 2 hours between the appretizer and the main course and then another two until the cheese dessert and people did not have anything to do but drink while waiting. I guess they got more money from selling the booze than the food. 
But it was nice until a certain limit.
