German Schnapps Versus American Schnapps

If you visit a European Import store like the Alpine Market and ask for schnapps, you may find that your options are more than you expected. In Germany, Schnaps refers to any strong liquor so you’ll need to narrow down your search. The schnapps you’re probably seeking is one of the popular Obstler or fruit schnapps varieties. In Europe, fruit juices are distilled into schnapps and mostly consumed straight without mixing. The most popular fruit schnapps in Germany are pear, apple, cherry, plum, and apricot. They are often imbibed before or after meals or even between courses to cleanse the pallet and aid in digestion. Our most popular schnapps at Alpine Market and a great example of the classic German schnapps is Bauer’s Obstler, a schnapps distilled from apples and pears.

The kinds of schnapps you can buy at an regular liquor store in the US and find behind your average bar by brands like Dekuyper are not distilled directly from the fruit but rather a mixture of grain alcohol and fruit flavors. These types are the kinds that many Americans think of when they hear schnapps. Peach and peppermint are popular flavors of schnapps used to make cocktails at bars all over the country. They make good cocktail mixers but I do not recommend them as shots.

Another popular German schnapps is Kräuterlikör also known as herbal liqueur. Some brands of Kräuterlikör that you may have heard of are Jägermeister, Kuemmerling, and Killepitsch. These liqueurs are made with dozens of herbs and spices and aged usually for at least one year. They were originally used as medicine for a variety of ailments. A while back I got some great Jäger drink recipes from our bartender Todd. Be sure to check those out if that’s what you’re in the mood for. For this blog though, I went to another of our bartenders, Tina from Bulgaria, and she gave me a recipe used with peach schnapps that she likes to make. She calls it a White Gummy Bear:

Tina’s cocktail: White Gummy Bear
Into a cocktail mixer, pour:
1.5oz Absolute or Grey Goose vodka
5oz Chambord raspberry liquor
.5oz peach schnapps
splash Pineapple juice
ice
Top with Sprite and shake.