Peppermint Schnapps Shots: Chocolate, Cream, Layered and the 100-Proof Problem

Most peppermint shot recipes never say which bottle they mean. That’s the whole problem with them.

A regular once handed me a bottle of Rumple Minze and asked for “the usual peppermint shots” for his table of six. The usual was built on cheap supermarket schnapps. I told him not with that bottle. He sulked. Then I poured him one of each, side by side, and he stopped sulking.

Same mint. Two to three times the alcohol. That gap decides every shot below.

Read the proof first

Peppermint schnapps is two products sharing one name.

The weak bottle is mostly sugar and mint. It’s gentle. You can take a full shot of it and taste candy.

The strong bottle is half alcohol. A full shot of Rumple Minze is stronger than a shot of vodka. Put it in a recipe written for the soft stuff and you get a different drink and a different night.

So a recipe that says “peppermint schnapps” means the soft bottle. A recipe that names Rumple Minze means it. Don’t swap without adjusting. If all you have is the 100-proof bottle, cut the pour by about half and make up the volume with whatever else is in the shot.

Our full peppermint schnapps guide covers the long drinks and the hot ones. This page is shots only.

Chocolate and peppermint

The pairing everyone wants. Four ways to get it.

The Polar Bear is crème de cacao and peppermint schnapps, equal parts, shaken cold. White crème de cacao keeps it clear. Dark turns it brown. York Peppermint Pattie in a glass. Best cheap shot on the page.

Swap the cacao for Godiva chocolate liqueur and you have the Godiva Polar Bear. Richer. Thicker. I pour two thirds Godiva, one third schnapps.

People ask for shots with chocolate syrup. None of the recipes I trust put it inside the shot. My bar trick instead: squeeze a thin spiral of chocolate syrup around the inside of a chilled shot glass, then pour the Godiva Polar Bear into it. Pretty, and the syrup clings to the glass on the way down. That one’s mine, not a database recipe.

Andes Candies is chilled chocolate milk with chilled Ice 101. Both cold or it’s gross. One part Ice 101 to two of milk. The milk tames the proof. It’s a chocolate milk with a bite and that’s fine.

Then Mint Chip: peppermint schnapps and Kahlúa. Coffee instead of chocolate. Darker. Less sweet. I’d pour this one for people who say they hate sweet shots. Sitting on a dusty bottle of cacao or coffee liqueur? Plug it into Cocktail Builder with your schnapps and see what else turns up.

The Godiva-and-Rumple version lives in our Christmas shots roundup as the Chocolate Covered Candy Cane. Go there for the float.

Cream

Slippery Nipple. In our database it’s Irish cream and peppermint schnapps. Half and half. Mint first, cream gently on top.

Truth is, cheap schnapps is so sugary it barely holds a cream float. Some nights it layers, some nights it clouds. I stopped caring. It tastes the same.

Peppermint RumChata shots? Not in our database. But RumChata is a rum cream liqueur with cinnamon and vanilla, and it drops into this shot in place of the Irish cream with no drama. Cinnamon and mint is a Christmas pairing anyway.

Eggnog and schnapps, half and half, stirred: that’s Christmas Cheer. It’s eggnog. Some people will not touch eggnog. Ask before you pour a round of six.

Layered

Layering is density. Sugar sinks. Alcohol floats. Pour heavy first, light last, over the back of a spoon, slow.

Santa Shot. Grenadine, green crème de menthe, peppermint schnapps. In that order. Red, green, clear. Grenadine has no alcohol and loads of sugar, so it goes down first and stays there. If someone wants a Christmas shot with peppermint schnapps, this is the one I’d put on a menu. Holds its layers for a few minutes. Build them right before the tray goes out.

Peppermint Rose is peppermint schnapps and Tequila Rose, the pink strawberry cream liqueur. Tequila Rose goes in first. Lay the schnapps over it. If it won’t sit, shake the pair instead and nobody minds. Strawberry and mint. Odd on paper. Strawberry ice cream with a mint leaf in practice.

More technique is in our layered shots guide. The rules don’t change for mint.

Peppermint vodka

We never stocked one. We faked it with the Glasnost, vodka and peppermint schnapps. Two parts vodka, one part schnapps, shaken ice cold. Close enough.

The Siberian Frost is vodka and Rumple Minze. Two spirits, no sugar. This one is strong. Sip it or split it. Don’t line up three.

Our database also has a handful of shots that pair Rumple Minze with 151 rum. I’m not sending you to them.

Jello shots

None in the database with peppermint schnapps, so here’s how I make them.

One 3-ounce box of lime or cherry gelatin. One cup of boiling water, stir till it’s gone. Then one cup of cold liquid. With soft schnapps, that cup can be all schnapps; it’s weak enough that the gelatin still sets. With Rumple Minze or Ice 101, use half a cup of it and half a cup of cold water. Full cup of 100 proof and they come out soft and slumped.

Into two-ounce cups. Fridge for four hours. A crushed candy cane on top right before serving, not earlier, or it melts into goo.

Questions I get every December

What proof is peppermint schnapps? Depends on the bottle. Supermarket ones run roughly 15 to 30 percent ABV. Rumple Minze is 100 proof. Ice 101 is 101. Read the label every time.

What mixes with peppermint schnapps in a shot? Chocolate, coffee, Irish cream, eggnog. Those four cover almost every good one.

Can I chill the schnapps instead of shaking? Yes. Freezer for the strong bottle, fridge for the soft one. Cold sugar gets thick and slow, which suits a shot.

Buy the small bottle of Rumple Minze. You will not finish the big one, and you shouldn’t.

Last modified on October 25, 2026