Forget Amarula, this is a real Namibian liqueur

WHEN Eugen Gehr and his wife Angelika moved to a farm in Namibia in 2000, he saw potential in what other farmers regard as a pest – wild prickly pear cactuses invading a large area and making it uninhabitable for livestock.

Given his many years of experience in the distilling of fruit schnapps in Germany, Gehr decided to turn the fruits of the invader plants into a uniquely Namibian prickly pear schnapps. The Gehrs had owned and managed a hotel in Germany for 25 years when they first visited Namibia.When they returned to Germany, they found themselves thinking of Namibia for weeks before deciding to abandon the life they had known and emigrate.In Germany Eugen had made schnapps from different fruits and he was convinced that prickly pears would make a great-tasting and unique schnapps.He imported a still from Germany and soon began experimenting with different strengths of schnapps.The dark purple fruit are picked with long tongs to avoid the thousands of tiny thorns.After the prickly pears are washed, they are mashed into a pulp.Yeast is added and the deep purple pulp is left to ferment in vats for two weeks.After fermentation the mash is distilled twice to ensure purity and a smoother and richer taste.Today Eugen produces two types of prickly pear schnapps.The clear Gehr’s Kaktusfeigen Brand has an alcohol content of 40 per cent and is just the thing to drink after a heavy meal to aid digestion.The red Gehr’s Kaktusfeigen Likoer is lighter (only 22 per cent proof) and smoother in taste.It goes especially well with desserts.A shot of this red liqueur in a glass of dry champagne makes a refreshing, fruity and truly Namibian sundowner.The Gehrs recently received a licence to operate a home distillery and can now sell their schnapps.Both types of prickly pear schnapps can be bought at selected bottle stores in Windhoek and at Swakopmund, Omaruru and Otjiwarongo.The Gehrs had owned and managed a hotel in Germany for 25 years when they first visited Namibia.When they returned to Germany, they found themselves thinking of Namibia for weeks before deciding to abandon the life they had known and emigrate.In Germany Eugen had made schnapps from different fruits and he was convinced that prickly pears would make a great-tasting and unique schnapps.He imported a still from Germany and soon began experimenting with different strengths of schnapps.The dark purple fruit are picked with long tongs to avoid the thousands of tiny thorns.After the prickly pears are washed, they are mashed into a pulp.Yeast is added and the deep purple pulp is left to ferment in vats for two weeks.After fermentation the mash is distilled twice to ensure purity and a smoother and richer taste.Today Eugen produces two types of prickly pear schnapps.The clear Gehr’s Kaktusfeigen Brand has an alcohol content of 40 per cent and is just the thing to drink after a heavy meal to aid digestion.The red Gehr’s Kaktusfeigen Likoer is lighter (only 22 per cent proof) and smoother in taste.It goes especially well with desserts.A shot of this red liqueur in a glass of dry champagne makes a refreshing, fruity and truly Namibian sundowner.The Gehrs recently received a licence to operate a home distillery and can now sell their schnapps.Both types of prickly pear schnapps can be bought at selected bottle stores in Windhoek and at Swakopmund, Omaruru and Otjiwarongo.