The possibilities of producing schnapps and other hard alcohol like vodka, whiskey, or gin are huge and there are no limits to your creativity. The desired quality of the final product is determined by the type of raw materials used. You can use a wide range of either starchy-based ingredients or sugary fruit, whatever suits your taste.

Depending on what starting ingredients you choose, the process starts differently. Starchy-based materials are mashed, to activate germination to produce enzymes, which transform the grain starches into fermentable sugars. Fruits on the other hand are crushed and pressed to extract their juices.

When this step is completed, the fermentation can start. By simply adding yeast, the sugar is converted to alcohol and CO2.

Once enough alcohol has been produced, it is ready to be distilled. In the distillation process, the desired liquid fractions are separated from the ones you don’t want to end up in your drink.

This separation happens due to the fact, that different types of liquids boil at different temperatures. The more volatile solvents, which are called “heads”, are boiled off first. These “heads” contain ethereal aromas and substances like methanol, which are harmful to humans and therefore are to be discarded. The type of alcohol you want to capture is ethanol alcohol, which has a boiling point of 78.37 °C (173.1 °F) and is also referred to as the “heart”. At the end of the distillation, the so-called “tails” are given off. The tails have increasingly lower amounts of alcohol and higher amounts of bitter aromas, which is why they are either discarded or distilled once again.