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Snaps

Small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated August 29, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

In the Nordic countries, especially Denmark and Sweden, but not in Iceland, snaps (pronounced [ˈsnaps], Finnish: snapsi), among many nicknames, 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 for any small amount of "liquor"; although usually brännvin, it may also be other spirits, such as vodka, bitters/bitter liqueurs, whisky or brandy, etc. In Norway, a more common name is dram (from the unit of the same name). In Finland, one of the country's strongest alcoholic drinks, served as snaps, is Marskin ryyppy, named after Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim.

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

01Culture

Snaps shanties

Swedes, Danes and Swedish-speaking Finns have a tradition of singing songs, called snapsvisor ("snaps shanties"), before drinking snaps. These songs are typically odes to the joys of drinking snaps. They may praise the flavour of snaps or express a craving for it.

Festivities

Snaps and snapsvisor are essential elements of Swedish festivities involving food, especially Midsummer and crayfish parties (Swedish: kräftskiva), which are notoriously tipsy affairs. Dozens of songs may be sung during such a party, and every song requires a round of snaps. However, the glass need not be emptied every time.

Nicknames

Snaps has many nicknames, some of which are specific to particular regions. Some names are heavily associated with certain phrases used in conjunction with snaps drinking.

Snaps drinking in Sweden, early 20th century.
Snaps drinking in Sweden, early 20th century.
Poster used at the 1922 Swedish prohibition referendum, depicting a bottle of liquor and a glass for snaps together with cooked crayfish. The poster emphasizes that crayfish parties require snaps, and thus banning snaps would kill off crayfish parties with it. English: "No! Crawfishes demand these beverages! You have to forgo crawfishes unless you vote NO on 27 August"
Poster used at the 1922 Swedish prohibition referendum, depicting a bottle of liquor and a glass for snaps together with cooked crayfish. The poster emphasizes that crayfish parties require snaps, and thus banning snaps would kill off crayfish parties with it. English: "No! Crawfishes demand these beverages! You have to forgo crawfishes unless you vote NO on 27 August"
Watch videos about SnapsExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Snaps”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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