999 (The Nines) is a herbal liqueur made by the Lithuanian company Stumbras. The traditional 999 liqueur was made with a total of 27 ingredients. 9 flowers/leaves, 9 herbs/fruit and 9 roots/plant bark. As is often the case with the successful herbal liqueurs, the producers release different versions of it with slight flavor nuances. The attention-seekingly named The Nines Cannabis contains hemp seeds among the other ingredients. The use of hemp and the word Cannabis derived from it in marketing seems to be the hottest trend among manufacturers right now. Various cannabis liqueurs are being pushed onto the market from all sides. In addition to hemp seeds, Stumbras liqueur contains apple and lemon juice, sugar and various herb and spice extracts. Chlorophyllin is used as a preservative and coloring agent. A 50 cl bottle of liqueur cost €8.90.

The drink is yellowish-green in the glass. The aroma has mint and other regular herbs, as well as fruity nuances. The taste is sweet and fresh, soft but at the same time kicks like a wild horse. The taste has a fruity freshness from apple and lemon, complemented by the aromas of various herbs. The sweetness is at just the right level. The initial sweetness quickly changes to the tartness of lemon and the aftertaste is pleasantly sour-sweet. Ethanol also gives a nice kick, and its effect is not masked here by adding too much sugar on it. So how does the hemp (Cannabis sativa) feel in the liqueur? Not at all. However, it is a decent fruit-herb liqueur. It may not outdate the traditional 999 Original, but over the years I have come across much worse herb liqueurs. The price-quality ratio of the product is pretty good.

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