Taste

Fruit brandies are usually colourless and taste of the fruit or berry used as the main ingredient.

The most commonly used fruits and berries are apple, cherry, raspberry, plum, pear, peach, currants and apricot.

Usage

Fruit brandies are served as shots, in mixed drinks and as digestifs.

Fruit brandies are served after a long meal to aid digestion. They can also be mixed in cocktails or added to desserts for flavour. As a digestif, fruit brandy is served slightly below room temperature, at 16–18°C.

How to serve

Central Europe is home to many fruit brandies.

Hungarians make pálinka using, for example, apples, pears, apricots and plums.

Germans distil wasser from fermented fruit mash, whereas geist is made from unfermented fruits or berries by macerating them in alcohol before distillation.

In France, meals often end with raspberry-flavoured framboise brandy.