RECIPE: World's Best Cinnamon Schnapps
I enjoy making schnapps. When I make it myself, I can control the quality of the ingredients and the strength of the liquor. What's not to like? Okay, maybe the waiting is the hardest part, but that's the only downside. Saves me money, too.
Limoncello is still my favorite, but I know cinnamon has been pretty hot lately, so I wanted to give that a try.
I tell you, I think I nailed it on my first attempt.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 liter 190-proof Everclear
- 12 to 15 small cinnamon sticks, or 5-6 giant ones snapped in half or thirds
- 2/3 cup organic light brown sugar
- 1.5 liters purified water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the cinnamon sticks into a widemouth 1.5 liter wide-mouth resealable jar.
- Pour the Everclear into the jar.
- Store the jar in a cool, dark place for a month (it might not need that long, but I didn't get around to the next step until a month had passed).
- Once the cinnamon infused Everclear is ready, start to heat 1.5 liters of water in a pot.
- Add the light brown sugar to the pot, and continue to stir as the pot heats.
- Once the sugar is completely dissolved, turn off the heat and let the sugar water cool.
- Once the sugar water is cool, remove the cinnamon sticks from the Everclear.
- Filter the Everclear to remove any excess solids. You can do this using cheesecloth or a clean coffee filter.
- Divide the Everclear equally into 3 quart-size Ball jars.
- Divide the sugar-water equally into the same 3 jars, to mix it with the Everclear.
- Enjoy the World's Best Cinnamon Schnapps however you prefer to drink it.
I like this schnapps with no ice at room temperature. The alcohol content of this recipe means this schnapps may get slushy in the freezer -- or, at least, mine did -- but keep it in there, if you like, and you'll have ice already built in.
There's one other thing: Enjoy!
If you like this, try my World's Best Limoncello, based on a recipe I got from a shop owner in Sorrento, Italy, the home of limoncello!