Kuusenkerkkäsnapsi - Spruce Sprout Schnapps

 

While it's spring (and hence the time to harvest fresh spruce sprouts), I want to share this recipe with you (though it's not quite the time to harvest spruce sprouts in Finland yet). It really celebrates the Finnish forests, nature and spring! It as a wonderfully refreshing taste when diluted with Sprite, lemon soda or sparkling water. Next time I want to try it on the rocks too (though it might be too strong for me like that).

 

See my earlier post on spruce sprout syrup. It has some additional information on spruce sprouts and how to collect them. If you've made syrup, you could combine the schnapps with it to obtain sweet liqueur (just combine them in suitable proportion according to your taste).

 Spruce Sprout Schnapps

1 L spruce sprouts (new tips of spruce/fir tree branches)
250 ml distilled spirit (up to 32 vol-% alcohol) (I used vodka, which I diluted with boiled, cooled water to get around 30 vol-% alcohol content: according to my source, if the alcohol content is over 32%, it will start to dissolve the bitter tasting compounds from the sprouts)

Wash the sprouts under cold water. Put them in a glass jar and pour the spirit on top. Close the lid tightly and leave on a window sill for about 1 month. Turn the jar upside down every day. After 1 month, sieve the sprouts away. Store in a bottle or jar and use according to taste to spice up other spirits or drink.

Adapted from: http://lautasella.blogspot.fi/2011/05/kuusenkerkkasiirappi-snapsi-ja-likoori.html

 

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