Chef Joost
Advocaat (Dutch Egg Liqueur)
Advocaat is the Dutch liqueur you eat with a spoon: brandewijn, yolks and sugar turned into a glossy Easter glass, with a hat of slagroom and no apology.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Dropshot (Dutch Liquorice Shot)
Created by
The Dutch took drop, the black liquorice sweet that divides visitors from citizens, and poured it into a freezer-cold little glass.
Beverages
Dutch
Game Day
Make Ahead
10 min
Active Time
10 min cook•24 hr 20 min total
Yield700ml, about 18 small shots
Every Dutch household has a drop person. Sometimes it is your aunt, sometimes the man at football who keeps a crinkling bag in his coat pocket, sometimes the child who has not yet learned that foreigners find salted liquorice alarming. Drop is not just sweet here. It is a test of belonging, a small black argument you offer with a straight face.
But let me tell you a secret: dropshot is what happens when that national habit walks into a bar and refuses to become polite. The name already tells you enough. Drop is Dutch liquorice, from the little black sweets sold in every supermarket and petrol station; shot is the borrowed bar word, because we are practical people and saw no reason to invent a ceremony where a tiny glass would do. The result is jet-black, salty-sweet, cold enough from the freezer to turn thick at the lip.
There is no grand technique here, and I like it that way. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple. Use real strong liquorice, a little salmiak if you want the northern bite, dissolve it patiently into vodka, sweeten only enough to round the edges, then freeze the bottle. The cold is not garnish. It is the method. Warm dropshot tastes like cough syrup with ambition; icy dropshot tastes like the Dutch having a private joke and finally letting you in.
Liquorice has been sold in the Netherlands for centuries as both medicine and sweet, with apothecaries and later confectioners using the concentrated root extract in pastilles and sticks. The Dutch appetite for salty liquorice, especially salmiakdrop made with ammonium chloride, became a northern European marker rather than a southern one, shared most strongly with Scandinavia and northern Germany. Dropshot is a modern bar expression of that older taste: the national sweet turned into a chilled liqueur for parties, football nights, and freezer doors that open more often than anyone admits.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
vodka
Quantity
500ml
strong Dutch liquorice drops
Quantity
150g
roughly chopped
water
Quantity
100ml
dark brown sugar or donkere basterdsuiker
Quantity
75g
food-grade salmiak powder (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 pinch
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| vodka | 500ml |
| strong Dutch liquorice dropsroughly chopped | 150g |
| water | 100ml |
| dark brown sugar or donkere basterdsuiker | 75g |
| food-grade salmiak powder (optional) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt | 1 pinch |
Equipment Needed
- •Small saucepan
- •Fine sieve
- •Clean 750ml bottle
- •Small chilled shot glasses
Instructions
- 1
Chop the drop
Roughly chop the liquorice drops so they give up their flavour without sulking at the bottom of the pan. Use a strong, dark Dutch drop if you can; soft sweet liquorice makes a pleasant drink, but it will not have the stern little handshake this shot needs.
- 2
Make the syrup
Put the chopped drop, water, sugar, salmiak powder if using, and sea salt in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir gently until the liquorice melts into a black syrup, about 8 to 10 minutes. Keep the heat low. Burnt liquorice turns bitter in a way even vodka cannot forgive.
- 3
Cool it down
Take the pan off the heat and let the syrup cool to room temperature. This matters because alcohol carries volatile flavour, and pouring vodka into a hot pan is a wasteful little bonfire. Patience is cheaper.
- 4
Mix with vodka
Whisk the cooled syrup into the vodka until the mixture is smooth, glossy, and black as wet slate. Taste a teaspoonful. It should be salty-sweet first, then liquorice, then warmth from the spirit. If it is too fierce, add a spoonful more sugar syrup; if too gentle, add a pinch more salmiak or salt.
- 5
Bottle and freeze
Pour the dropshot through a fine sieve into a clean bottle, cap it, and freeze for at least 24 hours. It will not freeze solid at this strength; it will become thicker, colder, and more civilized, which is the only civilization we ask of it.
- 6
Serve icy
Shake the bottle once, then pour into small chilled shot glasses. Serve straight from the freezer. No ice, no garnish, no theatrical business. A dropshot should arrive black, cold, and brief.
Chef Tips
- •Use Dutch drop with real strength: zoute drop, salty liquorice, or dubbelzout, double-salt liquorice. Mild red or fruit liquorice belongs to another kitchen entirely.
- •Salmiak means ammonium chloride, the sharp mineral salt in salmiakdrop. Buy food-grade salmiak only, and use it with restraint; a little gives the proper northern bite, too much tastes like punishment.
- •Keep the finished bottle in the freezer and serve in small glasses. This is a make-ahead drink by nature, and game day is exactly where it behaves best.
- •If the syrup looks grainy after cooling, warm it gently with a splash of water and stir until smooth before adding it to the vodka.
Advance Preparation
- •Make at least 24 hours ahead so the bottle can chill properly in the freezer and the liquorice can settle into the spirit.
- •Keeps for several weeks in the freezer. Shake before pouring, since heavy liquorice syrup can settle slightly over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 39g)
Calories
95 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
120 mg
Total Carbohydrates
10 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
0 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Dutch Drinks: Jenever to Anijsmelk
Browse the full collection
Chef Joost
Anijsmelk
Anijsmelk is the Dutch night drink of cold hands and quiet kitchens: milk, anise, a little butter, and the sweet medicinal smell every child remembers.
Chef Joost
Beerenburg (Frisian Herb Bitter)
Beerenburg is Friesland in a small glass: bitter herbs, old jenever, cold quays, and a name that belongs not to bears but to an Amsterdam spice merchant.
Chef Joost
Bisschopswijn (Dutch Bishop's Wine)
The bishop's red wine, scented with orange and clove, belongs to Pakjesavond as surely as pepernoten: a small pot of spice-route history passed between cold hands.