When I was in college, we had a party in our dorms and one person brought a drink called Swattes Swien. It was black and strong and salty and tasted like licorice. Absolutely delicious!
So, what was this drink with the mysterious name that came out of an unmarked bottle? Swattes Swien is low German for black swine or pig. Another name it is known under is Schwarze Sau which means black sow. It is a mixture of vodka and the black licorice candy Türkisch Pfeffer.
Ingredients for Swattes Swien
Türkisch Pfeffer is a strong salty licorice with a liquid inside its hard shell. It contains ammonium chloride.
We bought our Türkisch Pfeffer from amazon.com but I recently discovered what I think is the same thing on germandeli.com. It is called Hot Pepper and also has the fire on the bag so we know how hot it is.
If you have relatives in Germany or Scandinavia, have them send you a couple bags. However, the “adult” candy is mostly available in the North, and might be hard to find in the rest of Germany.
Making it
Making Swattes Swien is pretty simple. Get a bottle of vodka, make some room in the bottle, crush the Türkish Pfeffer (1.5 – 2 bags, 200-300gr), fill it in the bottle, let it sit for a couple of days, shaking it occasionally. Enjoy!
But be careful, it drinks like licorice candy. And if you have hypertension, you should really watch your intake.
Other Names for the Licorice Liqueur
The Lakritzlikör (licorice liqueur) goes by different names:
- Swattes Swien
- Schwarze Sau (black sow)
- Kettenfett (chain grease)
- Gabelöl (wheel fork oil or grease)
- Altöl (waste oil)
- Wodka Schornsteinfeger (vodka chimney sweep)
- Vogelsuppe (bird soup)
- Dachpappe (roof cardboard)
- Betontod (concrete death)
- Dämonsplörre (Southern; demon’s dishwater)
