Kaffekask
| IBA Official Cocktail | |
|---|---|
| Type | Cocktail |
| Primary alcohol by volume | |
| Served | Hot |
| Standard drinkware |
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| Commonly used ingredients |
|
| Preparation | Heat the coffee; do not boil. Pour into cup and add the alcohol; serve hot. |
Karsk (also called Kask) is a Scandinavian cocktail containing coffee together with moonshine or vodka, and sometimes a spoon of sugar (enthusiasts often consider moonshine exclusively to be appropriate as an added component, as it has no inherent taste like other alcoholic beverages). Broader, it can also be found in other parts of Scandinavia.
The word Karsk is derived from the Old Norse adjective karskr, meaning healthy, vigorous or agile.
The precise origin of Karsk is unknown, however it appears to have been a popular drink in the formerly Norwegian Bohuslän district in the early 1800s. By the latter half of the century its popularity spread across Norway. It was and still is especially popular in rural areas, although city-folk also enjoy it. It is firmly embedded as a part of the culture in Trøndelag, and according to former Norwegian Minister of Culture Trond Giske "Everyone who has grown up in Trøndelag, has had Karsk at some point".
In English speaking countries, the variant with vodka instead of moonshine is sometimes called Russian coffee, though Russian coffee can also refer to a variant served with whipped cream. In Norway, the term karsk is predominantly used in the mid-region of the country (Trøndelag, roughly corresponding to the counties of Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag), while it may be referred to with other terms in other parts of the country. For instance, it may also be referred to as kaffedoktor ("Coffee doctor") or knikt (Hedmark dialect for knekt (jack/knave)); both these are for instance popular designations in the counties of Hedmark and Oppland. In Northern Norway it may also be referred to as rotar, though some would use these terms (kaffedoktor and rotar) exclusively about a variety where sugar is added with the coffee. In Sweden it is called kask, kaffekask ("strong coffee") or kaffegök and is mainly drunk in the central and northern parts. Even the Southeastern dialect of Finnish has an expression for the beverage, there called kaffeplörö or kaffeblörö.
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