PR Wormwood Bitter Schnapps Essence 20 ml

PR Wormwood Bitter Schnapps Essence 20 ml

Some schnapps set out to please everybody, and then there is wormwood bitter. It is the most uncompromising character on the schnapps table – dry as gunpowder, aromatic as a sun-baked herb bank, and with a bitterness that makes the newcomer raise an eyebrow and the connoisseur smile. Anyone who has once learned to love it rarely wants anything else with their pickled herring.

PR Wormwood Bitter Schnapps gives you exactly that classic style. There is no sweetness to hide behind, only the grey-green, almost sage-like aroma of wormwood and a clean, straight bitterness that cuts through rich, salty food like a sharp knife. When the fermented fish season opens it is close to compulsory, but it earns its place just as well beside the pickled fish at Easter and among all the cured and preserved delicacies of the Christmas table.

Colour & Appearance

Once mixed, the schnapps takes on a pale straw-yellow to golden tone, like weak herbal tea. In a chilled, misted glass it looks every bit as austere and serious as it tastes.

Nose

The nose is dry, green and bitter even from a distance. Wormwood leads with its camphor-fresh, slightly dusty herbal character – think of dried bunches hanging beneath the rafters of a loft. Behind it you catch bitter orange peel, a hint of sage and something that calls freshly cut hay to mind.

Palate

The first sip gets straight to the point. The bitterness arrives at once, forceful but clean, and spreads across the whole tongue without ever turning harsh or rough. In its wake comes the aromatic side of wormwood: green herbs, a little menthol coolness and a dry spiciness reminiscent of both sage and tansy. The bitter orange adds a bittersweet, fruity nuance that rounds the whole off just a touch. There is no sweetness whatsoever – this is a schnapps built to cleanse the palate and wake the appetite.

Finish

The finish is long, dry and warming. That noble bitterness lingers for several minutes before fading slowly into clean herbal notes. The next bite of herring tastes twice as good.

How to Use

The essence is mixed with vodka or neutral spirit and can be enjoyed straight away, though the flavour rounds off if the blend is left to rest for a few days. 20 ml makes 750 ml of finished schnapps. Instructions are on the label.

Serving Suggestions

• Well chilled with pickled herring, soused herring and boiled new potatoes.
• With fermented fish, flatbread, waxy potatoes and red onion – the time-honoured combination.
• On the Christmas table as a counterweight to ham, brawn and rich sausages.
• A teaspoon in a cup of hot tea or black coffee for those who enjoy a bitter note.
• A few dashes in a gin and tonic in place of cocktail bitters.

About the Essence

PR Wormwood Bitter Schnapps belongs to the PR (Prestige) series and is one of the true classics among our spiced schnapps. The essence is highly concentrated, easy to measure and gives the same result every time – handy when the schnapps has to last through midsummer, the summer crayfish party and Christmas alike.

If you find the bitterness a little too mighty, simply blend the finished schnapps with some unflavoured spirit in the decanter until the strength of flavour suits the company. For producers and catering kitchens the same essence is available in a 25 litre drum.