Rosalie Apero

Rosalie Apero by Piekfeine Brände with Frisian rose and strawberry

Rosalie Apero by Piekfeine Brände is a bittersweet aperitif liqueur from Bremen, made from Frisian rose, strawberry, and Sicilian bitter orange. It drinks like a North German relative of the Italian aperitivo, only more floral and with noticeably less sweetness behind it.

Rosalie Apero is the aperitif liqueur from Piekfeine Brände in Bremen, created by distiller Birgitta Schulze van Loon. Nordic blossom meets sunny fruit, as the distillery itself puts it – and that is exactly what is available at 18% ABV in 700 ml and as a small 100 ml sample, glowing a bright rosé.

Rose blossom, red fruit, and a bitter edge

First comes the rose, floral and delicate, then the strawberry with its warm sweetness, and right at the end the bitter orange draws a tart line underneath.

This bitter edge is the real trick. Without it, Rosalie would be just another sweet fruit liqueur; with it, she grows up: fruity, floral, and edgy. The bitter oranges come from Sicily and bring the sharpness that opens the mouth for the meal after the first sip – which is what an aperitif is for.

A liqueur cannot do entirely without sweetness anyway, the law sees to that: nothing with less than 100 g of sugar per liter may call itself one. With Rosalie, the bitter orange pushes back, and that is why, at 18% ABV, she remains a drink for the evening rather than for dessert.

The North German spritz and what else works

The classic is 4 cl of Rosalie in a glass with plenty of ice, topped with 12 cl of tonic and a wide strip of orange zest rubbed over the rim.

With sparkling wine or prosecco instead of tonic, it becomes a spritz that brings a color to any garden table that nobody can ignore. In the home bar, the aperitif liqueur also gets along with vermouth or with a dry gin such as the Triple Peak Gin from the same house. Rosalie likes company, large glasses, and the early evening.

It also works neat and well chilled, which is when you taste the rose most clearly. With olives, salted almonds, and mild cheese, the table is set.

Why rose and strawberry belong together

Botanically, the two are closely related: strawberry and rose both belong to the rose family, and you can taste this kinship in the glass.

For Rosalie, Birgitta Schulze van Loon chose the Frisian rose, the rugged coastal rose that grows on every dike along the North Sea. From its petals she distills a strictly limited rose blossom spirit, and from its hips a rosehip brandy – so the plant is used twice, top and bottom. The strawberry, in turn, grows in every other field in the North, and at harvest time in June whole stretches of countryside smell of it.

The Frisian rose has the botanical name Rosa rugosa and carries its wrinkles in its name: rough, dark green leaves, thick blossoms, thick hips. It withstands salt wind and sandy soil where other roses have long since given up, and smells stronger than most garden roses. Anyone who has smelled it on a dune will recognize it in Rosalie immediately.

The result is an aperitif liqueur that is not copied from Italy but made from what blooms and ripens here anyway. For this, Rosalie was awarded ISW gold. You can find the entire range from the glass manufactory at Piekfeine Brände, and if you prefer it clear and dry, reach for the Piekfeiner Korn. Blossom or grain, both Bremen.