SCHNAPPS TOPS SURGE IN LOW-PROOF SPIRITS

Some restaurant-pub operators say the stuff is suddenly so popular that it just seems to sell itself--without tabletents or other merchandising tactics.

However, others use splashy promotions, suggestively named cocktail recipes--even self-service shooter bars--to coax greater returns out of the liquor world's new spirits phenomenon.

And in many establishments where trendy drinkers gather, an enormously popular cocktail called the Fuzzy Navel, made with a peachy variety of this newly rediscovered spirit, has emerged.

The spirit is schnapps. No, not the 60-proof, peppermint-flavored cordial that hard-core users have traditionally chased with a beer for a quick, no-nonsense buzz. And not the schnapps of Germanic tradition, also quaffed in various forms and flavors in the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries.

As reformulated by savvy United States distillers who are sensitive to changing taste trends and consumption patterns, the new, bornagain schnapps has had its alcohol content lowered --to between 42 proof and 48 proof--and its appeal for younger, typically female drinkers broadened through some 65 new flavor varieties. They run the gamut from such best-sellers as peach, apple, cinnamon, raspberry and root beer to the more improbable bubblegum, butterscotch and jalapeno flavors.

For liquor manufacturers, distributors and bar operators, the recent renaissance of schnapps has helped brighten the spirits market. Industry analysts tracked a 10% rise in 1985 sales of U.S.-produced cordial brands. Almost all of that increase accrued from the so-called schnapps revolution.

The ascension of schnapps continues in 1986 and has so far been tracked by analysts at another 10%-to-11% increase --a relatively small but rapidly growing category. And much of the schnapps is being consumed in bars and restaurants in easily merchandised, high-margin shots and cocktails.