Schnapps Tasting - Lantenhammer

Thanks to Torsten's suggestion (and to our supermarket having sample-sized bottles), last night we tested some of Lantenhammer's schnapps assortment.

I had seen these before and always was intrigued by the flavors. The Gansloser hazelnut schnapps we tried on Valentine's Day was quite good, so I figured the walnut (Walnuss) would be interesting too. And I've loved the smell of bergamot (kaffir lime) since we used the leaves and limes in cooking school in Bangkok. Intoxicatingly citrusy!

There are so many schnapps on the market here that it's tough to know which ones are really good and worth buying.  So we were really happy to have someone we trust's recommendation to try one.

For a full disclaimer (because it's all about individual taste)....we're generally not huge fans of the really fruity schnapps (blueberry, for example) or of some of the herbal (kräuter) schnapps. That being said, I think there are ones out there we would like if we tasted enough of them. The traditional pear (Williamsbirne) schnapps can be quite good, and I love cherry anything.

The Lantenhammer LineupOverall, we liked every one of the Lantenhammer schnapps shown here. All were extremely smooth and drinkable, with mostly subtle tastes and alcohol. Not that they're weak....the alcohol contents range form 18-30%. But you have less of an overpowering alcohol taste or smell than you find with some liqueurs.

What were our favorites? Herr J's favorites were the lime (limonen) or the rose (rosen); whereas his least favorite was the nutty walnut.  I would agree with him on the rose, and that the lime was incredibly drinkable, but I did enjoy the walnut. And to be honest, all 5 of them.  However, I'm much more a fan of nutty tastes than he is. 

A quick review:

Apricot (Marillen) - Incredibly smooth, with a golden color and not so strong smell.  This one reminded us a little of Andechs' wonderful honey schnapps, though a slightly different taste and a bit thinner.  It does not at all taste strongly of apricots...it's a light, sweet taste that was difficult to identify and much more subtle than most apricot schnapps.

Lime (Limonen) - Pale yellow, with the strongest scent of the five. Though it was more of a lime than an alcohol scent - it was not so strong at all. And frighteningly smooth going down...you have to be careful of how good this one tastes!

Rose (Rosen) - With a slightly pink tinge and an equally subtle scent, this one was smooth and sweet and light.  It's a very light schnapps and one that most everyone will enjoy.

Bergamot (Bergamotte) - This one was clear, with a light citrusy scent.  While we definitely tasted some alcohol in this one, it was not overpowering (as some schnapps can be). It tasted quite like a not so sweet version of a lemon drop shot (vodka + lemon + sugar rimmed glass).  We really enjoyed the light flavor of this one, without a lot of sweetness. 

Walnut (Walnuss) - An amber colored liquid, this one was stronger in both alcohol and flavor.  It definitley had a nutty walnut taste, but was not overpowering either. I really enjoyed it, but it's something that may not appeal to someone who doesn't like nuts. 

As a whole, these are the perfect schnapps to start with (or to serve to guests) when you don't enjoy the hardcore herbal or strongly alcoholic schnapps.  Part of it is probably their subtlety in not overflavoring; part is that these have lower alcohol content.  Most schnapps are in the 40% (or at least above 30%) range. These are much lower and therefore smoother.  But still very enjoyable for an after-dinner drink!

On their website, Lantenhammer also recommends something potentially sacriligeous in the schnapps world....that these are great liqueurs for mixing drinks. I could definitely think of some tasty martini-style drinks to make with these!

Interestingly Lantenhammer is owned by the same group as is the Slyrs whisky distillerie. They also make the König Ludwig brands of schnapps and two lines of more traditiona schnapps (the fruity Fruchtbrandliquer and the traditionally strong Edelbrände). Those two focus on the more traditional pear, apricot, and raspberry flavors, and are positioned a bit above König Ludwig's price point.  So it makes sense that Lantenhammer includes a completely different flavor selection in the ones we tried than with other lines. A bit more modern taste and packaging, it seems.

We'll give some of the other schnapps a try soon, but again we have to keep recommending the products produced by the Slyrs and Lantenhammer groups!

And Bavarian Whisky Liqueur

Last week we sampled some Slyrs, the Bavarian single malt whisky.  As we were quite pleased with it, we decided to try their whisky liqueur.

The website describes it as a diluted whisky (30% vs the usual 43%) with the addition of honey and vanilla notes.  All things that sound good, but we've had whisky and we've had schnapps...and we really had no idea how this would taste.

Luckily most of the stores here sell single serve bottles of liquor, so we grabbed a small one to try. Better than being stuck with a full bottle of something we don't like...

My first impressions were its light color and an aroma that reminded me of the wonderfully intoxicating smell of vanilla extract.

Off to a good start.

While it does have vanilla notes to the taste, the vanilla is much more strong in the aroma than in the actual taste. It was a really subtle and well-blended drink. Very smooth and sweet, but not too much so. In fact, all of the tastes (sweet honey, whisky, vanilla, and caramel) mixed perfectly so that none dominated.

Of course my initial thought was "Wow, this is great. It's like a girlie whisky!" When I later looked it up on the Slyrs' website, I was amused to discover that whoever does their marketing is very in tune to customers' thoughts.  They mention that when they tested the liqueur in the destillery, it was not only women visitors who enjoyed it. And also that they sell in miniature 50 mL sizes "for the skeptics."

Well, we are skeptics no longer, and bought a normal sized bottle yesterday.

I'm thinking this would be great for eggnog and also a really good gift to bring someone from Germany. While it's not the strong smoky whisky taste that some love, it will definitely please those who love a smooth whisky. It's very subtle and really good.

Bavarian Single Malt

Frau A and I hosted the German Beer Tournament last year, and are starting to plan the next tournament.  It might be German wines, sausages, or just more bier.

In the mean time we continue to look for new/unique things, so when Frau A saw a German-distilled malt whiskey, we had to try it.

Slyrs is produced in Bavaria, about an hour south of Munich in the start of the Alps.  Its home in Schliersee is not far from Tegernsee -- unsurprisingly, both Slyrs and the most popular malt beverage in this area trumpet the quality of their mountain water.  (Both lakes have essentially drinking-quality water.  Bavaria really has an excellent track record of keeping things clean and healthy.)

Slyrs was launched in 1999.  Its founder was a beer brewer, and it took a few "unsuccessful attempts" before the result was "harmonised".  The data look like typical single malts:  beechwood smoked grain, copper kettle, (American) white oak barrels...but foreshot and feints are not used again (as in Scottish whiskey) but dumped, and the mash is washed only once (vs. multiple times for scotch). 

But how does it taste?

First, the packaging was the essence of German quality and understatement.  This is NOT an economy bottle, however -- check out the prices here.

Personally, I loved the taste.  Slyrs was exceptionally smooth -- maybe the mountain water working its magic?  There was one note in its flavor that was unusual and we couldn't place it.  Not bad, just different.  Frau A likes it too.  It finishes so well, it might be the best "scotch" for non-whiskey drinkers.  (Of course if you prefer strong smokey/mineral/earthy whiskey, this will be too soft.)

We were both surprised and impressed.  This will stay in the liquor cabinet.

Now we're interested in trying their other products, especially the "whiskey liqueur" -  diluted to 30% alcohol, added honey, plus accents of vanilla and caramel.  Sounds perfect for post-skiing relaxation this winter. 

Also, we have moved a Slyrs distillery-tour higher up the to-do list.  Maybe we'll pick up some of their whiskey-infused chocolates or fruit spreads while we're there.

Follow-up:  we also tried Slyrs' "cask strength" whiskey called "Raritas Diaboli".  Whoa - 55.9% alcohol, and it tastes every bit of it.  A little too much alcohol for our preference.  They claim that it has hints of cinnamon, but I couldn't get any subtlety past the alcohol.  We're going to try again with a few drops of water to see if it "relaxes" a bit.

Germans are experts with malt, so it's not too surprising that they're moving on to whiskey.  It's a good start.