Liqueurs

Peach Schnapps

Peach schnapps is a clear, sweet peach liqueur, usually 15 to 20% ABV; Archers, the British bottle, is 18%. A German Schnaps, by contrast, is a dry fruit spirit with no sugar in it. In a Sex on the Beach and a Woo Woo our schnapps goes in at 20ml and supplies most of the sugar.

Quick Facts

ABV20% ABVBottlings run about 15 to 20%; Archers, the British bottle, is 18%.

Legal categoryLiqueurA sweet liqueur, despite the name schnapps

OriginUnited States (Peachtree, 1984) and Britain (Archers, 1986)

Flavour Strengthmild

Our keeping timeYears unopened. Once opened, a year or more kept sealed and out of the light; the fruit and aromatics fade first.

Storage

Sealed and upright; the fridge suits an open bottle.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes vary by brand: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Peach Schnapps

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

PeachSweetClean

Tasting Notes

Sweet, clean peach, like tinned fruit, with little else behind it.

The English word schnapps means a sweet liqueur

In German, Schnaps means a strong, dry spirit, often distilled from fruit, with no sugar in it. In America and Britain the word came to mean something else: a sugared, flavoured liqueur well under half as strong. A peach schnapps on a British shelf is that second kind.

In law it counts as a liqueur: 15% ABV or more, and at least 100g of sugar per litre. Crème de pêche counts as a liqueur too, but it is steeped from fruit rather than flavoured.

The two meanings of schnapps

Sweetened

Peach schnapps (British and American): Yes, heavily
German Schnaps: No

Strength

Peach schnapps (British and American): Usually 15 to 20%; Archers 18%
German Schnaps: Spirit strength

How it is made

Peach schnapps (British and American): Neutral spirit flavoured with peach
German Schnaps: Often distilled from the fruit itself

In a Woo Woo

Peach schnapps (British and American): The recipe’s choice
German Schnaps: A dry, fierce drink

	Peach schnapps (British and American)	German Schnaps
Sweetened	Yes, heavily	No
Strength	Usually 15 to 20%; Archers 18%	Spirit strength
How it is made	Neutral spirit flavoured with peach	Often distilled from the fruit itself
In a Woo Woo	The recipe’s choice	A dry, fierce drink

Peachtree and Archers made it a mixer

DeKuyper released Peachtree in the United States in 1984 and sold about 1.3 million cases in 1985, its first full year. Archers followed in Britain in 1986. Both were clear, so they could go into orange or cranberry juice without changing its colour, and the long, sweet vodka drinks of the decade were built around them.

In our drinks it is most of the sugar

The Sex on the Beach pours 20ml with 40ml of vodka, 40ml of fresh orange juice and 40ml of cranberry, the cranberry poured last over a spoon. The Woo Woo takes the same 20ml and 40ml of vodka, topped with 90ml of cranberry and a squeeze of lime. Neither adds syrup, so the schnapps measure decides how sweet the glass is.

Using it

Using Peach Schnapps

Usage

20ml in both our recipes, beside 40ml of vodka: with orange and cranberry juice in a Sex on the Beach, and with cranberry alone in a Woo Woo. It is most of the sugar in each glass, so measure it rather than pour it free.

Pro Tip

For the layered look in a Sex on the Beach, stir the vodka, schnapps and orange juice once over ice, then let the cranberry run slowly off a bar spoon so it drifts down through the glass.

Top Tips

Measure it. At 20ml a Sex on the Beach is fruity; poured free, it is syrup.
Use fresh orange juice in a Sex on the Beach: the schnapps brings enough sugar for the whole glass.
A German Obstler or peach Schnaps is a dry spirit; it will not stand in for the sweet liqueur.
Keep it cold if you like it cold; it does not need the fridge to keep.

Possible Substitutions

Peach Liqueur: Crème de pêche: darker and steeped from fruit; tints the drink amber
Apricot Brandy: Sold as a liqueur in Britain; pour slightly less

Production Method

Neutral spirit flavoured with peach and sweetened, bottled clear.

History & Context

Clear peach schnapps took off in the United States in 1984, when DeKuyper released Peachtree; in 1985, its first full year, about 1.3 million cases were sold. In Britain, IDV launched Archers in 1986 at 24%. Archers is now 18% and has belonged to De Kuyper Royal Distillers since 2022.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is peach schnapps?

A clear peach liqueur: neutral spirit flavoured with peach and sweetened, usually 15 to 20% ABV. In Britain the bottle most people know is Archers, at 18%. It mixes into juice without clouding or colouring it, which is why it became the peach in so many long drinks of the 1980s.

Is peach schnapps the same as German Schnaps?

No. In German, Schnaps means a strong, dry spirit, often distilled from fruit, with no sugar added. The English-language word, especially in America and Britain, came to mean a sweet, flavoured liqueur of much lower strength. A German peach spirit in a Woo Woo would make a dry, fierce drink.

How strong is peach schnapps?

Usually 15 to 20% ABV. Archers was launched at 24% in 1986 and is now 18%; our recipes take peach schnapps at 20%. A 20ml pour adds less alcohol than a third of a standard vodka measure, but nearly all the sweetness.

Is peach schnapps a liqueur?

Yes, in Britain. The spirit drinks rules define a liqueur by two floors, strength of 15% and sugar of 100g a litre, and a sweet peach schnapps clears both. The word schnapps is a naming habit, not a legal category.

What can I use instead of peach schnapps?

Crème de pêche, the French peach liqueur, at the same 20ml, though it is darker and will tint the drink amber and taste more of cooked fruit. Apricot brandy, a liqueur in Britain, does the job if you trim the measure a little. Peach purée gives the fruit without alcohol but makes the drink thicker.

Does peach schnapps go off once opened?

No. Its sugar and alcohol hold it sound for a year and longer with the cap on, out of the light. The peach smell fades slowly, so a very old bottle tastes flatter and sweeter. It needs no fridge, though cold schnapps keeps a long drink colder.

What drinks use peach schnapps?

Among our recipes, the Sex on the Beach, with vodka, fresh orange juice and a slow pour of cranberry, and the Woo Woo, with vodka and cranberry over ice. Both take 20ml of schnapps to 40ml of vodka, and in both it supplies nearly all the sugar.

Make something

Made with Peach Schnapps

Featured In These Cocktails

Sex on the Beach Woo Woo Boston Trash Can

Often Used With

Updated 10 October 2026

Back to Ingredients Guide