Liqueurs

Butterscotch Liqueur

Butterscotch liqueur, often sold as butterscotch schnapps, is a sweet spirit flavoured like the brown sugar and butter sweet, usually 15 to 24% ABV; De Kuyper’s Buttershots is 15% by a US retailer’s listing. Brands differ on dairy, so check the label for milk. Our recipe for it is the Guy Fawkes Grog, a hot punch that warms 300ml with dark rum, honey and lemon.

Quick Facts

ABV20% ABVBottlings run about 15 to 24%.

Legal categoryLiqueurSold as schnapps in the US; a liqueur under UK rules

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

Our keeping timeYears unopened. A clear bottle lasts well over a year once opened; cream versions to the producer’s date.

Storage

Upright and sealed at room temperature; cream versions as the label directs.

Allergens

Contains: milk. Cream versions contain milk; for a clear bottle, check the label.

The ingredient

About Butterscotch Liqueur

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

ButterscotchBrown sugarVanilla

Tasting Notes

Brown sugar, butter and vanilla; very sweet.

A schnapps by name, a liqueur by law

Butterscotch liqueur is spirit sweetened and flavoured to taste of the brown sugar and butter sweet. American labels often call it schnapps, a word that in German means a dry fruit spirit; under UK rules it is a liqueur, held to the same 15% strength and sugar floor as any other. De Kuyper Buttershots is 15%, and other brands run up to about 24%.

Clear and cream bottles behave differently

Butterscotch liqueur styles and the grog’s 300ml (Buttershots’ strength from a US retailer’s listing; the other strengths and the units are ours)

Clear schnapps, e.g. Buttershots

ABV: 15%
Milk: Check the label
With lemon: Fine
Units in 300ml: 4.5

Stronger clear bottles

ABV: Up to about 24%
Milk: Varies by brand
With lemon: Fine
Units in 300ml: Up to 7.2

Our recipe figure

ABV: 20%
Milk: Check the label
With lemon: Fine if clear
Units in 300ml: 6.0

Butterscotch cream liqueur

ABV: About 17%
Milk: Yes
With lemon: Curdles
Units in 300ml: 5.1

Style	ABV	Milk	With lemon	Units in 300ml
Clear schnapps, e.g. Buttershots	15%	Check the label	Fine	4.5
Stronger clear bottles	Up to about 24%	Varies by brand	Fine	Up to 7.2
Our recipe figure	20%	Check the label	Fine if clear	6.0
Butterscotch cream liqueur	About 17%	Yes	Curdles	5.1

A clear bottle has no cream to split, so it can meet citrus and heat. A cream version contains milk, curdles with acid and needs the care of any cream liqueur. Read the label on the bottle in your hand for allergens.

The Guy Fawkes Grog is a hot build

The Guy Fawkes Grog dissolves 150ml of honey in a litre of hot water, adds 500ml of dark rum, 300ml of butterscotch liqueur and 150ml of lemon juice, and warms the pan until it steams without boiling. It goes into heatproof mugs with a cinnamon stick in each. With lemon in the pan, it needs a clear liqueur.

Sugar first, spirit second

Its sugar does as much work as its alcohol. Any recipe you adapt to include it needs less honey or syrup, and a shaken drink at 15% thins quickly over ice. Warm builds suit it: the heat carries the butter and vanilla, and the sweetness has hot water or juice to spread into.

Using it

Using Butterscotch Liqueur

Usage

A 300ml pour into a pan of Guy Fawkes Grog, with dark rum, honey, lemon juice and a litre of hot water, warmed until it steams and never boiled. Elsewhere it goes in small measures into hot apple juice or hot chocolate. Cut back other sweeteners wherever it goes in.

Pro Tip

Add the butterscotch liqueur once the honey has dissolved in the hot water, then hold the grog at a steam. A low, steady heat keeps the toffee note and the alcohol in the pan.

Top Tips

Use a clear, non-cream bottle in anything with lemon. Cream versions curdle against the acid.
Treat it as part of the sugar. Reduce honey or syrup in any recipe you adapt to include it.
Read the strength before working out units: between 15% and 24%, 300ml differs by almost three units.
Warm it gently. Bringing a punch to the boil drives off alcohol and flattens the flavour.

Possible Substitutions

Caramel Syrup: With a little vodka or rum: the sweetness and toffee note, less strength

Production Method

Spirit sweetened and flavoured to taste of butterscotch: brown sugar, butter and vanilla. De Kuyper Buttershots is 15% by a US retailer’s listing; other brands bottle stronger, and some add cream.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is butterscotch liqueur?

A sweet liqueur flavoured like butterscotch, the boiled sweet of brown sugar and butter, usually 15 to 24% ABV. In the UK it is a liqueur under Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, so it carries at least 100g of sugar in every litre and 15% alcohol. De Kuyper Buttershots, a familiar bottle, is 15% by a US retailer’s listing.

Is butterscotch schnapps the same as butterscotch liqueur?

Yes, in a bar. In American usage “schnapps” covers sweet flavoured liqueurs like this one, while in German it means a dry fruit spirit. A bottle labelled butterscotch schnapps is a sweet liqueur and works wherever a recipe asks for butterscotch liqueur.

How strong is butterscotch liqueur?

From about 15% to 24% ABV by brand. Our Guy Fawkes Grog takes 20% for its units, so its 300ml contributes six UK units to the batch; a 15% bottle gives 4.5 and a 24% bottle 7.2. Check the label before you pour.

Does butterscotch liqueur contain dairy?

Some do. Cream versions always contain milk. For a clear bottle, read the label in your hand: unless it says otherwise, assume milk could be present, and check before serving anyone with an allergy, since recipes change without notice.

Can I use a cream butterscotch liqueur in a hot punch with lemon?

No. Lemon juice curdles cream, and heat makes it worse. The Guy Fawkes Grog has 150ml of lemon in the pan, so it needs a clear, non-cream butterscotch liqueur. Keep cream versions for drinks without citrus, such as hot chocolate.

Does butterscotch liqueur go off once opened?

In our experience a clear bottle fades rather than spoils: sugar and alcohol preserve it, so an opened bottle lasts well over a year in a cupboard while the butterscotch aroma softens. A cream version is different and should be kept as its label directs, to its printed date.

What drinks use butterscotch liqueur?

In our recipes, the Guy Fawkes Grog, a hot bonfire-night punch of dark rum, butterscotch liqueur, honey, lemon and hot water, ladled into mugs, each with a cinnamon stick. It also goes into hot apple juice and hot chocolate, and into sweet shots.

Sources.

Correct as of 16 October 2026.

legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex II (retained)”.
The Liquor Barn, “DeKuyper Buttershots 1.75L” (US retailer’s listing (15% ABV, 30 proof)).

Make something

Made with Butterscotch Liqueur

Featured In These Cocktails

Guy Fawkes Grog

Often Used With

Caramel Syrup

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 16 October 2026

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