Alcohol free schnapps
Swedes buy more and more alcohol free wines at Systembolaget, and an alcohol free schnapps was also launched just before Christmas 2011. Does this mean the Swedish alcohol culture is about to crumble? Not necessarily - sales were up 19% the first three quarters of the year, compared to 2010. Yet, there’s a demand for more drinks without alcohol.

“It feels natural for us to be able to offer an alcohol free schnapps,” says Rebecka Blomberg, press secretary at Systembolaget. Alcohol researcher Mats Ramstedt was a bit surprised to find out about this schnapps: “It was unexpected but interesting. It’s especially unusual since drinking schnapps is connected traditionally to ‘ schnappsvisor’ (songs about schnapps), which in turn are often related to the intoxicating effects of alcohol.”

It should be noted that when it comes to schnapps, the alcohol free alternatives have received very unfavorable comments in Sweden. Alcohol free drinks make up 0.3% of Systembolaget’s sortiment, in other words, not that much.

If you read Swedish, do take a look at the alcohol free products through Systembolaget here Varugrupp Alkoholfritt