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Beluga Hunting (Beluga Hunting) is a line of premium Russian liqueurs based on Siberian herbs and berries. The original product is produced in small batches by the Mariinsky Distillery, one of the main enterprises of the Beluga Group holding, the leading alcohol producer in Russia. Bitters based on natural plant ingredients have a bright taste, which has been appreciated abroad.
Historical information
The largest plant of the Beluga holding is located in the very heart of Siberia – in the city of Mariinsk, Kemerovo Region. The enterprise was founded by merchants Telegins in 1900, and until the beginning of the First World War, the state-owned wine warehouse supplied the entire county with alcoholic beverages.
Production resumed only in the 1920s – the plant quickly mastered the production of not only vodka, but also tinctures, liqueurs and liqueurs. The enterprise worked successfully in the Soviet years, and even in the 1990s remained afloat. After privatization, a global reconstruction of workshops began, which were re-equipped with new equipment from Italy. In 2002, the first batch of Beluga vodka left the lines, which a year later won the Lenexpo Grand Prix and received a gold medal at the Quality Mark exhibition.
The management of the holding managed to preserve the most important thing – archives, technologies and entire generations of experienced employees of the Mariinsky Distillery. All these factors combined with the new equipment have helped to create a premium brand.
In 2015, the company decided to go beyond vodka products and launched Beluga Hunting bitters on the market. Technologists were inspired by the long-standing traditions of taiga hunting, which gave Siberians an indescribable feeling of unity with nature.
Beluga Hunting production technology
Beluga Hunting liqueurs are partly a craft product. A number of operations are performed manually, so the production of bitters is a complex and time-consuming process. The liqueurs contain 40 natural ingredients, and their combination is selected by experienced specialists. Most of the roots, herbs and berries are harvested in the Kemerovo region, only components that are impossible to get from abroad are brought from abroad, for example, orange essential oil.
Another difference between liqueurs is malt alcohol, which is distilled from germinated wheat. The plant uses the technology of double maceration. Vegetable raw materials are poured with a water-alcohol mixture with a strength of 30% and kept for seven days. The same set of components is poured with 70% alcohol and infused in parallel. Then the extracts are mixed, blended and fed to cryo-treatment to remove the sediment. The finished product rests for 10 days in steel vats and only after that it goes to bottling.
The technologists of the plant believe that it is impossible to make a premium drink without good artesian water. In this regard, the Mariinsky Distillery is lucky – the enterprise is located on deposits of quartz sand several tens of meters thick, so the water from the wells is naturally purified and acquires a special taste. For this reason, vodka and bitters are produced exclusively in Mariinsk, despite the inconvenient logistics, since when changing the source of water, the unique taste cannot be preserved.
Types of Beluga Hunting liqueurs
Herbal liqueur “Beluga Hunting Herbal” with a strength of 40% is a drink with a soft and harmonious bouquet, which is formed by:
- wormwood, anise, hops and oak bark;
- St. John’s wort, pine nuts and pine buds;
- cherry leaf, ginger root and coriander.
Bitter has a rich aroma, in which there are coniferous and herbal shades. The taste is multifaceted and bright with spicy warming tones and a long aftertaste.
Beluga Hunting Berry is a berry liqueur with a strength of 38%, created from infusions of cranberries, lingonberries, mountain ash, lingonberries, blueberries and rose hips. Spicy notes are added by cinnamon, anise, juniper and lime blossom. In the aroma of the drink, subtle citrus notes are distinguishable, which gives orange oil. Bitter has a pleasant and juicy taste, where natural berries come to the fore.
How to drink Beluga Hunting liqueurs
The classic way to consume bitters is frozen. Strong cooling smooths out too bright taste, which makes it possible to drink pure liquor as an aperitif. The recommended serving temperature in this case is -15 ° C, wet shots must also be pre-cooled in the freezer.
Bitters are great for making cocktails. Herbal can be mixed with ginger ale or soda, or add a slice of lemon for more citrusy undertones. Berry liqueur will make lemon juice, soda and plenty of ice more drinkable.
Both bitters are good both solo and accompanied by meat dishes. Herbal pairs well with steaks, venison, game and grilled chicken. Berry Berry makes a gastronomic pair with baked meats and desserts. Beluga Hunting liqueur is often used as an ingredient in original sauces.