Sauna with Aquavit

An immersive winter experience at ISCO

January 25th
5-9pm
ISCO Spirits in Providence

 
 

How will this work?

  1. Upon arrival, visit the Sauna and put your name down to reserve a seat on the bench.

  2. At your scheduled time, feel free to change in ALTÆR’s changing room and pop in with a towel.

  3. You’ll be sharing a 7 person Sauna with other Sauna/Nature/Aquavit/Caviar enthusiasts — aka your kind of people!

  4. Everyone will have 20 minutes-ish to enjoy the Sauna. This doesn’t mean you need to sweat for 20 minutes! You can exit, use the outdoor shower, lounge on the cushions, and then head back into the sauna when ready.

  5. If you didn’t bring a bathing suit and would still like to experience the Sauna, you may ABSOLUTELY keep your clothes on and warm up by the wood burning fire.

  6. The BEST way to care for yourself after the Sauna: eat pickles, drink water, eat caviar-butter bread and sip on Aquavit.

  7. After this rotation, you’ll understand the Nordic life and (hopefully) fall in Love with Winter.

Remember to bring:

  • an open heart

  • bathing suit (OPTIONAL: Full Clothing is also fine!)

  • towel

  • sandals

  • decadent-winter chic hat and jacket (IE: any clothing that  makes you feel warm, cozy and happy)

Why Sauna at ISCO?

The heat and relaxation of a Sauna can help to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. At ISCO Spirits, we’ll be pairing the wood-burning Sauna with Free caviar - butter nordic bread bar, and sustainably sourced limited release Aquavit Spirits! Transport yourself to the Nordic countries where Winter is CELEBRATED!

Nordic Sauna Culture

Well, this is a RICH and ROBUST topic, here are a few quirky/fun rituals:

  • In Finland, if there is a bigger party and sauna is organized as a part of it, it is common to hide a bottle of Jaloviina (Finnish brandy) somewhere in the sauna. The person who finds it, is the steward of the Jaloviina

  • Some Sauna hosts will share a celebratory shot of Aquavit to prepare the body for the heat.

  • Traditionally Saunas were created as a public space for hygiene. Now, urban and remote Saunas are building popularity in Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Germany as being a space to socialize, share food, drink Spirits (cough Aquavit cough), and lounge post sauna/cold plunge.

  • The Finnish sauna sausages are apparently a social activity where they grill the sausage on the Sauna stove!

  • In Switzerland, they have something called a Fondue sauna, where the cheese is melted in the sauna with the participants. *Switzerland is not considered Nordic, but we thought it was necessary to share :)

  • The Finnish embassy in the USA has a Sauna. Yes, they conduct business and peace talks in a Sauna. A reporter once visited the Sauna in D.C. saying, he was welcomed with a canned Gin Drink, and a small towel. “Finnish tradition of mixing the high-heat therapeutic practice with diplomacy is a tradition that helped Finland steer clear of falling under the Soviet orbit during the Cold War, a tradition that may have helped usher in Namibia’s independence, and a tradition that prompted George H.W. Bush to jump completely naked into the Baltic Sea during a pivotal trip to Europe.” — Foreign Policy Magazine