Homemade Rhubarb Schnapps (Rhubarb Liqueur)

Rhubarb schnapps is a simple homemade fruity liqueur made with just rhubarb, sugar and vodka. I often add a little ginger too, but that’s completely optional. It couldn’t be easier to make, although you do need a bit of patience while it infuses and matures.

I love making homemade liqueurs when I have a glut of fruit. They’re ever so easy to make and so much better and cheaper than any bought variety. And they just get better with age, which makes them perfect for gifting. If you grow rhubarb, as we do, this is a must make recipe for you.

Dive Right In

Why You’ll Want To Make Rhubarb Schnapps

• Easy to make with just three ingredients.
• A brilliant way to use up a glut of rhubarb.
• Beautifully fruity with a sweet sharp flavour.
• Optional ginger adds a gentle warming note and goes particularly well with rhubarb.
• No special equipment or skill required.
• Makes a lovely homemade gift.
• Perfect for aperitifs, cocktails or festive drinks. Delicious served chilled over ice in summer – with or without sparkling water.
• Keeps well and improves with time.
• Easy to scale up or down for larger or smaller batches.
• Much cheaper than buying artisan fruit liqueurs.

Homemade Rhubarb Liqueur

I’ve been making my homemade rhubarb schnapps for many years now. It’s a great way to use up some of our excess homegrown rhubarb. Making your own fruit liqueurs is really quite simple and this one is an easy introduction to them if you’ve not tried it before.

Not only is it cheaper to make your own fruit liqueurs, but it’s really satisfying too. What’s more you know that it’s naturally flavoured and contains no artificial ingredients. My easy homemade cassis is another really good one.

Rhubarb schnapps ages really well and keeps for years. Once bottled, the liqueur starts off pink, but as it matures it takes on a lovely amber colour. I found a bottle at the back of the cupboard recently which was at least ten years old. It’s the best yet.

How To Serve Rhubarb Schnapps

Once matured, you can savour this delectable fruit liqueur in various ways. Sip it neat as an aperitif, try a rhubarb refresher with ice and sparkling water for long summer afternoons or make my rhubarbarella cocktail.

It’s also delicious drizzled over desserts such as strawberries and cream or vanilla ice cream. And, as it keeps so well, it’s perfect for gifting, especially at Christmas. Just decant into pretty bottles and label.

Ingredients, Additions and Substitutions

Although you only need three ingredients to make rhubarb schnapps, it’s worth mentioning all three of them. There’s also some additional ingredients you might like to add.

Rhubarb

Homegrown or shop bought will work fine for this recipe, but as usual with fresh produce, the closer to being picked, the higher the quality of your finished drink will be.

Try to go for red or pink stems rather than green if you can. These will give a pink colour to the liqueur. Nevertheless, the flavour will be good whatever the colour.

Bright pink forced rhubarb should give a lovely pink colour and also a smoother and sweeter flavour than ordinary garden rhubarb. But I’ve never tried it and I’m very happy with my rough and ready allotment grown rhubarb liqueur. If you do use forced rhubarb, you’ll probably want to use a bit less sugar though.

Can you use frozen rhubarb? Well yes you can. You may not get such a good colour, but the flavour will be fine.

Sugar

Although I’m a big fan of golden sugar as it’s less refined, white sugar is the one you need for making this recipe. It gives a much clearer colour to the liqueur. Use either granulated sugar or caster sugar. Granulated sugar is usually quite a bit cheaper.

Vodka

Vodka is the spirit of choice for making rhubarb liqueur as it’s the one least likely to compete with other flavours. Because rhubarb is such a strong flavour, you really don’t need to go for an expensive vodka. I tend to go for the cheapest brand or whatever is on offer at the time.

The only thing to look out for is the percentage of alcohol. Try for at least 40% as it’s the alcohol which preserves the rhubarb and enables it to keep for years.

Extras

I like to add some root ginger to my rhubarb schnapps. It’s not at all necessary, but it adds a subtle warmth to the drink, which I quite like. Rhubarb and ginger are classic pairings.

Another traditional complement to rhubarb is orange. So if you fancy that one, peel the rind of one organic orange and add that to the jar of rhubarb. Try to peel it finely so that you leave the bitter pith behind.

Vanilla also goes really well with rhubarb. Vanilla is quite strong though, so don’t use more than half a vanilla pod for the quantities given in the recipe card. Scrape the seeds out then add the pod to the jar prior to pouring in the vodka.

How To Make Rhubarb Schnapps

There are few recipes out there easier to make than rhubarb schnapps. But you do need patience. It takes a long time to infuse.

Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact method and quantities of ingredients used.

Step 1. Prepare Rhubarb

Top and tail the rhubarb sticks, then rinse them under the tap. Using a sharp knife, cut them widthways into one centimetre (half inch) slices.

Scrub the piece of root ginger, if using, but there’s no need to peel it. Chop it into six to eight bits.

Step 2. Load Jar

Transfer the rhubarb slices to a sterilised one litre jar with a tight fitting lid. A clip top jar or preserving jar is ideal.

Add the ginger to the jar too.

Sprinkle the sugar over the top, then pour in the vodka. Top up with more vodka if required.

Seal the jar, then give it a good shake.

Step 3. Infuse

Place the jar somewhere cool and dark. It doesn’t have to be black, but away from the sun and too much light is good.

Give the jar a shake every day until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Let the rhubarb infuse for at least two months, but the longer you leave it the better it will be. Four to five months is ideal. Just give an occasional shake.

You can see from the image above how the colour has leached out of the rhubarb. The liquid turns a rather fetching pink.

Taste test after a month or so. If the liqueur isn’t sweet enough for you, add a bit more sugar.

Step 4. Strain & Bottle

When you can’t wait any longer, strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve and into a clean sterilised bottle or bottles.

Leave the rhubarb slices to drain, but don’t be tempted to squash them down to get more liquid out. If you do this the schnapps will be cloudy rather than clear and it may not last as long.

Seal the bottles well and store in a cool dark place. It will continue to mature once bottled. However, it’s absolutely fine to drink the liqueur straight away.

Rhubarb schnapps keeps for years and just gets better the more it matures. The colour, changes over time from pink to amber, but that’s absolutely fine. It may also collect a little sediment at the bottom of the bottle. That’s fine too, just pour it carefully so it stays at the bottom or use a sieve.

Don’t Waste The Boozy Rhubarb

Don’t discard that leftover boozy rhubarb, you can use it for all sorts of things. For example, poach it and serve on top of porridge, overnight oats, yoghurt or vanilla ice cream as an easy way to enhance all four. Or serve it with pancakes or waffles as in this recipe for waffles with rhubarb and rose compôte.

You could also use it to make an enhanced rhubarb crumble or chop it up a bit more finely and make this rhubarb cake or these rhubarb and white chocolate muffins.

Other Rhubarb Recipes You Might Like

Keep in Touch

Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make my rhubarb schnapps, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for making fruit liqueurs?

Please rate the recipe too. And do tag me @choclette8 on Instagram with your images, I really enjoy seeing your take on my recipes.

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Choclette x

Homemade Rhubarb Schnapps. PIN IT.