DISTILLER STIG BAREKSTEN FORAGES most of the 26 botanicals for his gin from Norway’s wilds himself. He hangs rhubarb, arnica, elderflowers, rosehips, mint, and citrus peels in a basket in his still, their fragrant essential oils captured in swirling vapors. He infuses the remaining ingredients—including astringent juniper, bitter orris root, lingonberries, and blueberries for sweet viscosity—directly into the potato-based distillate, his small copper pot running a full nine hours, slowly building flavor and a weighty mouthfeel, augmented by his country’s silky glacial water.
For this alchemy, Bareksten, cohost of PBS’ People of the North, takes inspiration from the hulder, wood nymphs who are said to live among the roots of ancient oaks in Norwegian forests. “If you ask me, I’d say they are real,” he says. That’s the kind of…
