Grandma Trudi's Cassis Top

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1,000 g blackcurrants with stems
• 300 g white rock sugar
• 1 ½ liters of schnapps (wheat grain), 34%
• 1 vanilla pod(s)
• 1 tsp lemon peel, zest, alternatively lemon zest

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest period approx. 100 days; Total time approx. 100 days 20 minutes

half the sugar will do

My Grandma Trudi’s concoction consisted of washing the blackcurrants, dividing them between two 1.5-liter bottles, pouring half the sugar over each, and finally pouring the schnapps over them. It rested in the dark for at least three months, but even years later, the liqueur still tasted good. I don’t know how much sugar my grandma used. But my own experiments have shown that about half the sugar specified in the rock candy manufacturers’ recipes is perfectly sufficient. I use 300 grams of rock candy for 1,000 grams of blackcurrants, so 150 grams for each of the 500 grams of fruit in each bottle. The mixture is then poured over with three-quarters of a liter of 34 percent wheat beer. The lemon or lime zest and half a slit vanilla pod each refine the aroma. Seal the bottles tightly and store them in a dark place for at least three months, preferably in a consistently cool cellar.