Southernwood schnapps

Southernwood schnapps - based on fresh, young southernwood leaves - is highly popular here in Denmark and rest of Scandinavia.

It has a mild, very aromatic and slightly bitter taste and a wonderful flavour.

The colour is pale green changing to pale brown after some storage.

The schnapps goes extremely well with caviar, crayfish, gravlax, salmon, herring, cured and smoked fish, lamb, poultry and cheese.

Excellent as after-dinner drink. Or just on its own.

Southernwood schnapps blends very well with...
lemon schnapps · sweet gale schnapps.

Or try this:

• Put half a lemon (well washed) in a glass jar
• Add 70 centiliter southernwood schnapps
• Let steep for 24 hours
• Allow to settle for a couple of days

Very enjoyable!

Also, see how you can easily...
turn your southernwood schnapps into a liqueur.

Southernwood

Artemisia abrotanum

The southernwood plant is a semi-evergreen herb or shrub - reaching a hight of one to two meters. It belongs to the same genus (Artemisia) as wormwood, sea wormwood and tarragon.

It's a very old medicinal herb and very decorative. Grown in many places as an ornamental.

Southernwood has many branches, grey-green and pinnately divided leaves, and dense panicles of multiple tiny yellow flowerheads. However, flowering does not occur in cool summers.

The lemon-scented leaves and flowers are highly aromatic - but bitter to taste. Used in herbal remedies and dietary supplements.

In the past it was used as a culinary herb to flavour fatty meat and pastries - today it's of less importance as food due to its bitterness.

However, in schnappses and liqueurs southernwood is - and has been for ages - a very popular and wonderful flavouring.

More information about the southernwood plant

Recipe

Use fresh, young southernwood leaves. Pick them during the summer.

You can freeze the leaves for later use. Just remember to defrost them in the vodka.

Direction:

• Rinse the leaves carefully.
• Leave them to dry in the shadow - on paper towel.
• Put 1/2 deciliter leaves into a clean glass jar with tight-fitting lid.
• Add 35 centiliter clear, unflavoured vodka - 40% (80 proof).
• Steep for 1-7 days - in a dark place at room temperature,
  18-20°C (64-68°F).
• Shake lightly and taste it from time to time.
• Strain and filter your infusion into a clean glass bottle or jar with tight-fitting lid.

You can serve your southernwood schnapps after it has settled for a couple of days.

But it gets even better if you store (age) it for a couple of weeks or months - in a dark place at room temperature. Taste it to find out.

Note: If for some reason you are not satisfied with your infusion, there are ways to adjust both taste and flavours - click here to see how.

Serve your southernwood schnapps at room temperature in suitable glasses. And remember to keep your schnapps bottle tightly closed and in a dark place before and between servings.