5 January 2014

Homemade liquorice vodka


Salmiakki, salty liquorice, is a very popular flavour among the Finns and Scandinavians, so it's no surprise that even alcoholic drinks with this flavour have been created. Salmiakkikoskenkorva is a drink containing salty liquorice and Koskenkorva, a clear spirit. Now that I live in England I can't just simply go and buy Salmiakkikoskenkorva in the shops, so I've started making my own ”Salmari” of Tyrkisk Peber sweets (or extract) and vodka. I have to say that nowadays I prefer my own version to the original and hardly ever buy the ready made drink in Finland anymore.



Tyrkisk Peber sweets can be purchased in some speciality Finnish or Scandinavian shops in the United Kingdom and all over the world, and also ordered online from several suppliers. Apart from the actual sweets you can also use the Tyrkisk Peber extract or a regular liquorice extract to make this drink.

These are all the ingredients you'll need:

70 cl Vodka (whichever is your favourite)
150 g Tyrkisk Peber Original sweets
2 tbsp Water
½ dl Sugar

Heat the water in a pan and add the Tyrkisk Peber sweets in there. Stir constantly as the sweets get very sticky while they melt. When the sweets are fairly soft, add the sugar to it, let it dissolve and stir into an even syrup.

Mix this syrup with the vodka and pour it back to the bottle. Now you might need two bottles as you have slightly more liquid than what you started with.

Shake the mixture well in the bottles and let cool in the fridge by occasionally shaking in case not all of the Tyrkisk Peber has dissolved into the vodka.


The taste of this drink gets a little better when it rests a week or so, but if you simply can't wait, it's drinkable straight away once chilled. Serve it cold as a shot or sip it from a grog glass.


Let me know how you like the drink in case you try to make it, but remember that Salmiakki isn't for the faint-hearted! It tastes surprisingly smooth for a vodka drink, but it has a punchy salty liquorice flavour to it. That is just the thing I like and also the fact that I can normally shock my British friends with this one.

And if you got interested in the subject, here are other liquorice posts of mine:




Your VegHog

16 comments:

  1. 1/2 DL of sugar is 40 grams is that correct ? - also what type of sugar ?

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    1. Hi! Yes, that's roughly the sugar amount. The amounts don't need to be so exact, some might like it more or less sweet, and any granulated sugar is fine. Let me know what you think about it, if youl'll make it!

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  2. I appreciate your great work. Thanks for sharing. Keep me more update in future.

    Black Liquorice Company

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  3. I were wondering if you ever have added spices(like cinnamon, cumin or somthing else) to mix up the taste, if you have could give some suggestions?

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    1. I haven't tried adding any additional spices to this drink. I have only made a mix of black liquorice and Fisherman's Friends, but that's as far as it goes.

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  4. try adding som lime peel in it! this shot ends up quite sweet, so adding som lime gives you a more sour ending in the taste.

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  5. great page! i love the finnish cuisine and nordic culture! akkavit! hazelnut easter eggs! might i subscribe to this blog?

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  6. i am just making a pecan liqueur at the moment with lots of pecan nuts. hoping it works!

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  7. I have just made this - without the sugar, just dissolving the Tyrkisk Peber in the vodka (not even heating it), and I must say it is DELICIOUS! I cen't get enough of it. I was making it for Christmas, but I doubt it will last that long. I used 240g of Tyrkisk Peber (2 packets) in 70cl vodka. Mmmmmm

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  8. bought some salty liqorice today in southend - traditional diamond shape - so yummy - always loved liqerice - salty liqerice - a joy - do i melt them with heat or let the alcohol dissolve them? - want to make some liquer with them - yummy, liqerice and alcohol

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  9. You are a hero. As soon as I get home from Helsinki I’m onto this. Thanks!

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  10. This looks like an interesting recipe - I'm going to give it a go with Dutch liquorice. Keep up the good work - thanks!

    Andrew
    www.liquoriceheaven.com

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  11. I was just gojng to ask can you use dutch salty licorice this drink sounds amazing Thank you

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  12. 50 cl vodka and a bag of Tyrkisk Peber in a blender a few minutes works fine for me.

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  13. I remember this with love,and on Wednesday I recived 2kg of Fazor origional tyrkisk peber salmiakki to make my salmiakkikoskenkorava Viini for Christmas, thanks for the recipe. Hyvva jolua
    Mike Collman

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  14. i had some salmiakikoekenkorva for the first time this week, FANTASTIC , now with your recipe i’m into it , thank you 👍

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Thanks for reading! I would very much appreciate any comments or suggestions from you.