Olde Hansa is a popular restaurant in the old town of Tallinn. The restaurant also houses a brewery and schnapps production, which are mainly served to the restaurant’s customers. Schnapps are also on sale in a few other stores. Caraway is a vodka spice with a long tradition. It probably came to the Baltic countries from Germany, where kümmel, or caraway flavored liquor, must have been in the selections of various restaurants for centuries.

There is no more detailed information about the production of Caraway Schnapps. It is probably made for rectified spirit produced by the Estonian Moe distillery. In addition to caraway, other herbs are also included, but they are not listed anywhere. I  see there is a fine residue of cumin and herbs are on the bottom of the bottle. So it has not been filtered very efficiently after the extraction of the spices. The 50 cl bottle was on sale at a discounted price of € 16.90.

In the aroma, caraway is mainly on display, but there are some other herbs in the background, at least peppermint and anise. The taste is very slightly sweet, has a strong caraway aroma and a bit of anise. Tiny peppermint also feels in the background after the caraway taste slowly vanishes away. The schnapps is well balanced, the sweetness is just right and 40% strength is in place here. However, the problem with caraway is that you either like it or not. If you can’t stand it, you won’t be able to enjoy this schnapps either.

It clearly requires the right atmosphere and a dining table that serves dishes that support the taste of caraway. I would guess that when enjoyed with cheeses and/or mutton, the experience would be very enjoyable. If you are otherwise neutral about caraway, but its taste in this drink is too strong, there is an easy tip. Just add half the pure vodka to your snap glass. In this case, the caraway calms down and the schnapps is easier to enjoy.

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