Snaps

This article is about the Nordic alcoholic drink. For other alcoholic drinks with a similar name, see Schnapps. For other uses, see Snap.
Snaps drinking in Sweden, early 20th century.

In Denmark and Sweden, snaps (pronounced [ˈsnaps] in Danish and Swedish) is a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal.

In Denmark, a snaps will always be akvavit, although there are many varieties of it. In Sweden, snaps is a more general term; it is usually akvavit, although it may also be vodka, bitters/bitter liqueurs or some other kind of brännvin/brændevin. Spirits such as whisky or brandy are seldom drunk as snaps. One of Finland's strongest alcohol drinks served with snaps is Marskin ryyppy, named after Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim.[1]

The word "snaps" also has the same meaning as German Schnapps (German: [ʃnaps]), in the sense of "any strong alcoholic drink".[2]

  1. ^ Uola, Mikko: Marskin ryyppy: marsalkkamme juomakulttuuria chevalier-kaartista ylipäällikön ruokapöytään. Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 2002. ISBN 951-746-385-5
  2. ^ Haugen, Einar (1965). Norwegian-English Dictionary. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.  The definition given is "nip, schnaps; shot (of brandy,
    aquavit, etc.)."