How to Make Hochzeit Schnapps at Home
Written by guest writer Sheryl Sayler
“One of the most enjoyable sessions we attended was the “Making Hochzeit Schnapps” session by Jerry Sailer (apparently not related in our genealogy). Not only did we learn how to make this traditional homemade wedding schnapps, but we got to taste it too, along with samples of 2 of the products Jerry makes commercially at his Black Hills Contraband Distillery. So by the time I walked out of that session at 10 in the morning, I had consumed about 3 shots of pretty strong liquor. Whew! Not only that, Susie managed to abscond with about a quart of the homemade brew, as Jerry was giving it away and she happened to be there to help him out! Jerry says he has been drinking this homemade concoction since he was about 6 years old. It is tradition in his family to have a good shot before bed every night, and he doesn’t get the flu, colds, sleeps like a baby and feels his immune system is strong because of this homemade “remedy” he has been taking for all these years. I may have to add that to my evening “get ready for bed” ritual!”
Jerry is allowing us to share his recipe.
1 c. Grain Neutral Spirits (or Everclear)
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. water (tap or any) (you will lose about ½ cup of liquid in evaporation)
Use cast iron or stainless steel pans. Stainless steel is easier to clear and cooks faster. The post must be at least 2” higher than the amount of liquids.
Caramelize the sugar. Turn heat to 360 degrees or medium. Add the sugar dry.
Using a metal spoon, keep stirring the sugar moving. It takes about 10 minutes. The sugar starts to clump and turns wet. When the sugar is nicely browned, turn heat down to 340 degrees. Slowly add water. An orange foam is created as the water is added, small amounts at a time. Keep stirring all the time.
In another steel bowl, add the Everclear. Never add Everclear to the sugar mix. Always add the sugar-mix to the Everclear. This mixture bonds best if the sugar-mixture is hot while added. Stir well.
It should appear as a beautiful red color, which is where it got its nickname ‘redeye’. It has a shelf life of – forever.
Jerry said that he is available at jerrygers@earthlink.net if you have questions about making your own Hochzeit Schnapps.
I would love to hear about your Hochzeit Schnapps making adventures.
You are right about German/Russian Weddings….we absolutely had Hochzeit Schnapps and even as a child I got to taste some…..my uncle added anise as a flavoring but my Dad just left it plain.
I am making this Christmas so my grandchildren can get a flavor or many years ago. Thank you for posting the recipe.
Alice, thanks for stopping by. Good for you. Keep the traditions alive! What I remember about it is that it was so smooth and went down so easily. I’m not much of a drinker and I found out it is potent!
Lots of memories…. I am not German…I am a Uke. My husband is German from Russia – born there! But I can add the Ukrainian side of the story… the ‘pure alcohol’ was always homemade. It required a double pot – much like a double boiler…. lots of skins…potato, or fruit (peach, pear, apple) – whatever was in season at the time. You put the fruit and some water into the bigger pot….and suspended the small pot nearer the top of the big one. Then you covered the top of the big pot with the lid and sealed it so no liquid/steam escaped. Mom used to seal it with raw bread dough which would cook as it got hot and provided a good solid seal. Start boiling the contents – and when it was going – drop the temp so the contents were still getting ‘cooked’ but just not at a rolling boil. The evaporation from the contents was 100% pure alcohol which was caught in the smaller pot. This took hours. It was to this pure alcohol that was added the caramelized sugar … and some fruit juice for Mom (it was one way she could cut the alcohol content without really upsetting Dad.) One time she threw some ripe black cherries (Bing) pits and all into the alcohol when it was still warm and put that into mason jars, in essence, preserving them. Turned out the best tasting cherries!! Even upon opening, they lasted a couple of years – and oh, the kick – not only from the alcohol which tasted like cherry – but from the cherries themselves.
Very interesting. I loved that she sealed the post with bread dough and it cooked as the pot boiled. Do you make it yourself? Thanks for stopping by, Lillian.
How was the small pot connected to the large pot? And was all the distilled contents used? (The “foreshots. heads. hearts and tails?”
Hi Gary, thanks for stopping by. I can’t really address the distilled contents, or how her pots fit together then. Now, a double boiler is a two pot system designed so one fits inside the other. Have you tried making your own schnapps?
This was a staple at all weddings in the German/Russian belt. My father mixed maple syrup with 190 proof everclear and water. It is also the best cough syrup.
Gary
Gary. Thanks for stopping by. I hadn’t heard of the maple syrup recipe. I love the cough syrup idea.
We have made this for many generations of weddings. However in addition to the everclear we add a flavored schnapps or brandy. Most common is peach or apricot schnapps.
I recently took some of this to a college reunion group and it was well received by many of the Scandinavians. 😅
Irene. Thanks for stopping by. The flavoring would add a nice touch.
how to you add flavoring? aka someone mentioned apple pie and a friend was just telling me about one she had with rhubarb syrup. I’ve had the traditional unflavored
Thanks for stopping by Pixie. I asked Jerry Sailer the question and this is what he said: When it comes to flavoring you need to be careful to not over do it. If you are using natural products you will have to let them set in the bottle for at least a week to infuse the flavor into the product. If you are using this method, I recommend macerating them first and then adding them into the liquid so they will soak in faster. If you are using an extract like you can buy in stores or online, I would say never use more than 6 ml per a 750ml bottle. The reason is that these flavor extracts can cause stomach issues if used in to high of a concentration in conjunction with alcohol. I hope this answers your question.
If the water in the recipe evaporates to around 1/2 cup as stated, then the proof of the resulting liquor wood be somewhere in the 140 proof range +/- depending on the actual water volume utilized for reduction. Cutting a spirit by an equal volume of water or juice will reduce the original proof by 1/2. 1/2 of 190 proof is 95 and 1/2 of 95 is 47.5. The result for a true 1/2 cup of cutting liquid would roughly be 95 + 47.5 = 142.5 proof, or 71.25% ABV (alcohol by volume) if the original grain alcohol is also kept from evaporation as well.
Hi Jim. Thanks for stopping by. It’s good to know it can be diluted, for those who might want it toned down. Thanks for sharing that.
I got to taste it this weekend. It has a very nice, smooth flavor and I enjoyed it. And, as Susie points out, it is still 190 proof, so a little goes a long way! Thanks for sharing it with me.
Linda, thanks for stopping by. Very smooth!
This sounds delicious! May be a new weekend project, just need to find a high proof liquor.
Matt, thanks for stopping by. Do you not have Everclear there? Jerry said it needs to be at least 100 proof.
What happens if you use a wooden spoon?
Andrea, thanks for asking. I went to Jerry for this. He said that wooden spoons contain tannins, a chemical in the wood that can leach into the product and alter the color and flavor. It is also harder to clean melted sugar off of a wooden spoon. He also added that a slotted metal spoon is better than a solid metal spoon because slots cause the liquid to stir easier, without splashing.
Could one cut the sugar? 1 cup would make it quite sweet,
Hi Geri. Thanks for stopping by. Jerry says this is a liquor rather than a whiskey. I don’t know if that means it has some sweetness by definition. It is not sweet like a port or Mogan David. You really don’t think ‘sweet’ when tasting it. It just goes down really smooth. Remember, most of that 190 proof remains, so small sips. I don’t think it would be the same if you cut the sugar.
I wanted to update this. I talked to Jerry about the sugar issue. He said you can cut down on the sugar. If you cut it by 1/4 cup, you would need to add 1/4 cup additional water. However, cutting down on the sugar means you would have more of the raw alcohol flavor and more of the harsh alcohol burn. Caramelizing the sugar not only adds the wonderful caramelized flavor and beautiful color, it masks the Everclear flavor. I hope that is helpful.
This is actually a Germans from Russia drink. It is originally named Hochzeit Schnapps (wedding schnapps). If you ever get to a Germans from Russia area, you can’t have a wedding dance without it. Originally made with burnt sugar water (carmalized sugar), everclear and sometimes cut with 7up. Nowadays you can make it taste like apple pie by adding apple cider and cinnamon sticks to the bottle.
I forgot to add that you should wait for the mixture to cool before adding it to the everclear. Because everclear it is 190 proof (95 percent alcohol) it will evaporate fast when is mixed with a warm liquid.
How did it turn out? Still good even if some of the alcohol evaporated? Thanks for stopping by.