Mulberry Aquavit (Scandinavian Schnapps)
Pro tip:
Visit whole food or co-op grocery stores with bulk food sections to save on purchasing a number of unique spices!
I’ll never forget when my younger brother and I were visiting our Swedish family for the Midsommar holiday (summer solstice) and he took an entire shot of Swedish schnapps on accident vs a small sip like you’re supposed to.
He must have been 14 or 15 years old and was fully not prepared for the strong, spicy, herb-acious hit that was about to come his way. His eyes started to water and everyone burst into laughter - but then a few of our family members joined him and took a full swig in solidarity. It was another Midsommar celebration for the books, each year seeming to get better than the next.
It wasn’t until I was in San Francisco and meeting with a friend Scott who sits on the board of the Swedish American Patriotic League that I considered making my own schnapps. This drink, referred to as aquavit, is very common in Scandinavia and has a different variety of spices depending on the country or region. Scott shared that they host an aquavit competition every year and I knew I had to try. I wanted to infuse (pun intended) a little San Francisco flair to this recipe as well. Influenced by all of the fresh, seasonal produce we get here in Northern California, I decided to add fresh mulberries at the end and make flavored schnapps.
To me, a mulberry tastes like a very sweet blackberry with a slight shrub taste to it - although it can be different from fruit to fruit. The result - a smooth, but authentic tasting, slightly berry-forward Swedish schnapps.
This recipe couldn’t be easier to come together - all you need is patience to let it sit and infuse!
Ingredients
1.5 teaspoons whole caraway seeds
1.5 teaspoon whole fennel seed
2 teaspoons whole dill seeds
2 whole star anise
1 tablespoon whole coriander seed
1 whole clove
1 liter vodka
1/2 c to 3/4 c fresh or fresh/frozen mulberries - stem on is ok
Instructions
Combine all spices in a bowl
Equipped with a funnel, add spices to the vodka. If you leave in the vodka bottle, they may accumulate in the neck of the bottle. Just push down and invert a few times with the cap on to mix well.
Alternatively, you can pour the vodka into a large mason jar to avoid the bottleneck affect!
Let sit for 7 days, inverting a couple of times every other day to mix the seeds well.
On the 7th day, add 1/2-3/4 c fresh mulberries (stems on is ok) to the bottle. You may have to remove a small amount of liquid so it all fits (again this can be avoided by doing in a separate jar that’s a bit larger).
Continue to invert the bottle daily for the remaining 3 days.
On the 10th day, taste the final product to determine if you’d like to let it sit longer and infuse any of the flavors (fruit or spices). Aquavit can infuse for up to three weeks, it’s just a personal preference! I like a smoother, less strong tasting schnapp.
When you’re ready to stop infusion, pour the contents through a food grade mesh nut sack or something similar into a new mason jar.
Freeze until chilled thoroughly and serve at your favorite special occasion! Up to you if you’d like to do a full shot or just a sip :)
Hope you enjoy!
🍓 Amelia
This recipe was adapted from Andreas Viestad’s Mock Aquavit recipe.
