This course is part of the official program for the Trøndelag Food Festival 2025.

Gin? You only drink it with tonic, right, or in a fancy cocktail? No - then you limit yourself unnecessarily, and you might miss out on some amazing flavors!

In this course you will hear about ways to drink gin that you have certainly not tried before, and you will also understand why some gins are cheap (and not so good...), while others cost a little more (and it shows in the taste!). You will learn about what MUST be in a gin - and not least about what CAN be in it. 

With a focus on craftsmanship and local ingredients, you will also get an in-depth taste of two of our gins, and at the same time also get to test how they work in a "normal" context, as an ingredient in a drink, a total of 4 tastings. When you leave, you will hopefully have gained an understanding that gin is not only a drink ingredient, but can also be a brilliant taste experience in itself.

About the course leaders

Roar Larsen is a former SINTEF researcher and chemistry professor, who completely changed course in mid-life. Together with his wife Trude Tokle, they have been producing one of Norway's best gins for 10 years in a small fishing village far out on the Helgeland coast - with only 11 other residents for company. 

They make gin "from scratch", and among other things, set requirements for one of their gins that it only contains ingredients that grow on the island - which is only 2 km long and 400 m wide. Then, goodies are brought in from both land and sea. Their products have taken Vinmonopolet's tasting panel by storm on several occasions, and made many reconsider their relationship with gin as an exciting tasting experience.

Starting out as a product that simply helped pass the time while waiting for the island's whiskey to be finished, gin has developed into "everyone's" favorite. With hand-picked ingredients, a drink is conjured up that can best be characterized as an Arctic high summer distilled into a bottle.