What is peach schnapps?

But let’s dive a little deeper. I’m going to go into a little more detail about what peach schnapps is, answer some of the questions people ask about it most, and share some of the best cocktails with peach schnapps. Let’s get into it.

What is peach schnapps?

Peach schnapps is a peach-flavoured variant of schnapps. So then, what is schnapps?

What is schnapps?

The word schnapps is a German term for any kind of strong alcoholic drink, and over the years it’s become known as a style of drink. Schnapps can take several forms:

• Distilled fruit brandy.
• Herbal liqueurs.
• Infusions: extracting the flavour from plants in a liquid such as water, oil or, in the case of schnapps, alcohol.
• Flavoured liqueurs. This is where peach schnapps comes in.

How is schnapps made?

Schnapps is made differently all across Europe. In Hungary, for example, there’s a tradition of making schnapps (or pálinka) from any fruit grown in Hungary.

In America, schnapps is made more in line with what us UK boozers are used to: a neutral grain spirit with fruit syrup, spices or other flavours. Made this way, schnapps is usually between 15% and 20% alcohol once it’s bottled.

Peach schnapps gets popular

Of the schnapps made this way, peach schnapps is by far the most popular. It exploded onto the scene in the 80s and has stayed popular ever since. In the UK, the best-known brand by a mile is Archers:

Cocktails with peach schnapps

There are loads of great cocktails you can make with peach schnapps. It’s a versatile ingredient that adds both booze and flavour to a drink. Here are four of the most popular:

• 

  Woo Woo

  4 ingredients · 2 mins

  Vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry juice

• Sex on the Beach

  Sex on the Beach

  5 ingredients · 2 mins

  Vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, cranberry juice

• Fuzzy Navel

  Fuzzy Navel

  2 ingredients · 2 mins

  Peach schnapps, orange juice

• 

  Sex In the Driveway

  5 ingredients · 2 mins

  Peach schnapps, blue curaçao, vodka, Sprite

Those recipes look AMAZING, right? All four go in a highball glass, and these are the ones we recommend:

FAQs

Now let’s take a look at some of the questions people ask most about peach schnapps.

What is peach schnapps made of?

Peach schnapps is made by mixing neutral grain spirit with peach syrup flavouring.

What is peach schnapps good with?

Peach schnapps is great with lemonade, cranberry juice and orange juice.

Is peach schnapps a vodka?

In German, schnapps just means any strong alcoholic drink, so by that definition vodka technically is schnapps. BUT the schnapps WE know and love almost always means a fruit-flavoured spirit.

Can you drink peach schnapps straight?

You can, but it’s so sweet that it makes a better mixer.

What is peach schnapps used for?

Peach schnapps is sweet and boozy, so it works as a great mixer or cocktail ingredient.

Is peach schnapps the same as peach liqueur?

Basically, yes.

Summary

Let’s sum up everything we’ve covered. So, what is peach schnapps?

• Schnapps is a German word meaning a strong alcoholic drink.
• Peach schnapps is made from neutral grain spirit flavoured with fruit syrup.
• Peach schnapps became popular in the 1980s.
• Four of the most popular cocktails with peach schnapps are the Woo Woo, the Sex on the Beach, the Fuzzy Navel and the Sex in the Driveway.

Further reading

• What is blue curaçao? (it’s in the Sex in the Driveway)
• 37 cocktails with orange juice
• Summer cocktail recipes

Sources:

• Schnapps on Wikipedia
• The Spruce Eats: what is schnapps?
• The New York Times: schnapps, the cordial spirit
• Infusion on Wikipedia