Moonshining from the suburbs ore how to make plum schnapps

Fall is here and the branches are hanging low with all its fruits, just waiting to be picked. There are actually so many plums on my tree in the garden, that eating them all would give you some serious stomachache. So why not use them for something that will make your head ache instead.

  

Well, this is not really moonshining, but a cut down version of how to make your own schnapps of plums and rhubarb, also from the garden.

There are many different recipes out there and many of them uses a specific amount of plums, sugar ore vanilla you should use. I tend to go more with an gut feeling for the measurements and experiment with different results.  

Here is my suggestion for a home made plum schnapps recipe. It takes around 45 min of preparation for the whole mixture, with collecting the plums and the rhubarb, cleaning them and cutting the ingredients.

Recipe

• Around 0,5 liter of Vodka ore schnapps 
• A good amount of plums, cut into smaller pieces and remember to remove the stone
• One piece of rhubarb cut into smaller pieces of approximately 2cm (0,78in)
• One whole piece of cinnamon
• Half a stick of vanilla, tip on the side, slice the stick in the middle and open it up so that the seed can come out
• Cane sugar, approximately seven tea spoons (when using 0,5 liter of Vodka ore schnapps)
• White sugar, here the same amount of seven tea spoons (when using 0,5 liter of Vodka ore schnapps)

Now mix it all up in a clean and scalded bottle. For the next couple of days shake the bottle both in the morning and evening until the sugar has dissolved. For the next three month the mixture has to be kept in a could and dark place. You can from time to time take a peak at it and gently turn the bottle upside down. This is not necessary but make the waiting time less hard ;-)   

After the long waiting time you can take out the mixture and run it once ore twice through a coffee filter, and voilà, ready to serve.

... But you could also put it back in its dark and could place for another two to four weeks for further enhancing the taste. Ore serve the bottle as it is, without filtering, for a special dinner, with a nice look of all the fruits inside the bottle.

Either way, happy moonshining!