In the past, this has happened: I blink, and rhubarb season passes. But in recent years, rhubarb season hasn’t been so fleeting. Rhubarb, in fact, is still in abundance at our little co-op, and I keep buying bundles of it because I found a rhubarb cake I absolutely love (more soon), but also because I love rhubarb schnapps: it is so refreshing poured over ice, topped with seltzer, spritzed with lime. I’m on my third batch this summer, and I’ve discovered a few things: I first wrote about this schnapps, (a Nigella recipe), in June four years ago, which still feels late for rhubarb season. The season seems to get longer and longer every year — not sure if this is a good thing or not? — but I can’t say I’m sad to still have access to it. I hope you do, too.
5 from 6 reviews Recently I made a double batch, which filled 4 of these bottles nicely. It is so pretty and makes such a nice gift—people are always so thrilled. Here are the proportions for a near-double batch:
3+ lbs. rhubarb to yield about 2.25 lbs. trimmed/cut 2.5 cups sugar 1.75 L bottle vodka
Notes: When I made this recently, I realized after a few days the color had been leeched from the rhubarb but the hue of the schnapps was not very vibrant. This was because I had started with rhubarb that wasn’t very pink to begin with. So, I bought some more rhubarb—the brightest pink stalks I could find—chopped them up and added them to the jar… worked like a charm. SO, try, if you can, to start with pink stalks.
