Heidegeist (also: ''guter Heidegeist'') is a

herbal liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged, beyon ...

that is sold especially in the area of the

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (, ) is a large area of heath (habitat), heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen and is ...

in northern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The name means "heath spirit" or "heath ghost". ''Heidegeist'' contains a total of 31 heather ingredients and has an

alcohol content Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...

of 50%. It is clear in colour and has a strong, minty taste. Originally manufactured by ''C.W. Baland & Langebartels'' from

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

, ''Heidegeist'' is now produced, like its sister spirit, Ratzeputz, by ''Schwarz & Schlichte'' in

Oelde Oelde () is a town in the district of Warendorf (district), Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near Beckum, Germany, Beckum. Geography Division of the town Oelde consists of 5 districts: * Oelde * Stromberg * Lette * S ...

. It is sold in five different bottle sizes and is available in chocolate form with a liquid centre. The

schnaps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to n ...

is drunk well-chilled and neat or is used in

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

s and for cooking. In the Lüneburg Heath, it is often mixed with the

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

flavoured schnaps, Ratzeputz, the resulting drink going by the name of ''108er''; being derived from the addition of the alcohol content of the two spirits: 50% and 58%.Recipe for 108er
at frag-mutti.de

References

External links

Liqueurs Lüneburg Heath