Bitters “Erofeich” – recipes, history, choice of raw materials

“Erofeich” is one of the first bitter tinctures produced in Russia since God knows when. Now hundreds of moonshiners and reenactors are trying to repeat her recipes, disputes about the “correct” erofeyich have not subsided for many years. Well, let’s join them and we’ll try to figure out what kind of fruit this “Erofeich” is and what it is eaten with, more precisely, they taste it.

One thing is known for sure: tincture “Erofeich” is moonshine infused with herbs. But when the recipe appeared, who is its inventor, what ingredients should be included in the composition and in what proportions, how many times the distillate should be distilled, whether it is possible to use not moonshine, but alcohol, and what strength it should be – all these are debatable questions . Today we will try to understand the history of this drink, and also – we will learn a few … well, why be trifles! – 10 recipes for tincture “Erofeich” at once, of your choice!

Where did the recipe for tincture “Erofeich” come from?

Most sources associate the name of the tincture with a certain barber by the patronymic Erofeevich. This Aesculapius, whose name history has not preserved, allegedly cured Count Alexei Orlov, who suffered from gastric ailment, with the help of some mysterious herbal tincture. Since then, the barber, again allegedly, received an unlimited right to produce herbal elixirs under the name “Erofeichi”. Other authors adhere to a more plausible version: that this tincture was named after Vasily Yerofeyich, a major wine merchant, and the legend of a poor barber who rose from rags to riches was invented purely for commercial purposes.

There is also evidence that erofeichi were produced in Russia long before the middle of the 1700th century, when Count Orlov and Vasily Yerofeyich lived. One thing is known for sure – in the XNUMXs, private moonshining reached unprecedented proportions in Russia. The moonshiner of that time is not your granny diluting the disgusting bullshit with diphenhydramine. This is a real alcoholic esthete, flatly refusing both the crappy “breech” and the rare and extremely expensive then “elite”. This is an experimenter who spares no effort, no means, no ingenuity to produce real masterpieces! In general, this is someone like you and me.

Most often, private distilleries were located on the estates of county landowners. The production technology was not yet so developed, there were no beer columns, so the crystallization of the product was achieved by repeated distillation and cunning cleaning methods. Some leaders managed to bring alcohol to 85 ° and higher on their semi-handicraft distillers. It was considered savagery to dilute such pure moonshine – how, all efforts are in vain! They drank a flammable liquid just like that, and in order to brighten up the fortress, they insisted on herbs, spices, roots – which grew in someone in the province. Sometimes, after insisting, the liquid was distilled again – according to the principle of gin. The total number of hauls sometimes reached 5.

The classic “erofeich” is an aperitif, it never occurred to anyone to take more than 2-3 shots of the strongest drink saturated with essential oils. They ate the tincture with meat, game, or – as befits the landowners undercut by the Bolsheviks – cold appetizers and soup. During and after meals, of course, they aggravated, but to a different extent: fortunately, the assortment of ratafia-vodka-starok-bison-burnt was wide. And Erofeich, as the pride of a moonshiner and a model of purity, was accepted a little bit.

How to make “Erofeich”? General principles

Naturally, now no one will drink 80-degree distillate – there is definitely nothing useful in this. Nowadays, erofeichi insist using either double-triple moonshine, or alcohol diluted in such a way that the final strength of the product is no more than 60 °. Sugar is traditionally not added to the drink, but there are recipes that include sweet plants – licorice, raisins, dried fruits – or honey to soften the taste.

There is also no consensus about the main “herbal” ingredient of the old Yerofeich vodka. For example, the esteemed Pokhlebkin believed that it was ginseng root, the classic of culinary literature Elena Molokhovets – that galangal. Wikipedia under the name “Erofey” gives a link to the herb “Black Mullein”, also known under this name hypericum perforatum – St. John’s wort.

As we can see, the confusion is still there. And the answer is actually simple – there is no recipe for a “classic erofeich”, and – most likely – never was. It is simply a common name for herbal and spice bitters, strong, bitter, without sugar, in the purest possible alcohol base. What was included in the composition depended on the tastes of a particular landowner or distiller, on the region of his habitat.

Below are various recipes for this tincture, including a wide range of ingredients. The proportion is indicated everywhere the same – for 10 liters of 50-degree sorting or moonshine, if desired, the ratio can be easily converted to the displacement you need. It’s more correct not to throw all the herbs at once, for the entire volume, but first make a concentrate by taking 1 liter of alcohol, which then slowly introduce into the main part of the alcohol and try all the time to achieve the saturation you need. The infusion time in all cases is 2 weeks, in a warm place, after which the drink must be carefully filtered.

10 “Erofeichi” for every taste

No. 1 Ancient “Erofeich” according to E.I. Molokhovets

This recipe was given in one of the first culinary books of the Russian Empire: “A Gift to Young Housewives” by Elena Molokhovets, the ingredients are counted for 10 liters.

• 50 g centaury;
• 50 g yarrow;
• 50 g of English (pepper) mint – read about the choice of mint in this article;
• 50 g of thyme;
• 80 g remaining.

No. 2 Another old recipe for erofeich

It was not possible to find out the authorship, but this recipe is also present in the mass of culinary guides, it is also mentioned by Kuravlyov’s hero in the film “The Young Lady-Peasant Woman”.

• 300 g peppermint;
• 300 g of anise;
• 150 g of crushed orange nuts (unripe dried fruits of bitter orange, it is recommended to replace them with dried orange peels).

In my opinion, the weight of the ingredients is simply mastadont, the tincture will come out too rich. But the historical truth is above all – what if someone decides to check?

№3 Erofeich with galangal and wormwood

• 200 g of galangal root;
• 35 g of wormwood;
• 35 g of angelica root;
• 35 g of juniper – read more about juniper and tinctures on it here;
• 35 g chamomile;
• 35 g senna;
• 35 g of peony root.

I did not find confirmation that the last ingredient is used in tinctures, you can do without it or replace it with yellow orris root – it will give the drink a light violet aroma.

№4 Second erofeich with galangal and wormwood

• 100 g of crushed galangal root (cinquefoil);
• 30 g of shamrock;
• 30 g of wormwood;
• 30 g of dill seeds;
• 30 g sage;
• 30 g of anise.

You need to be careful with wormwood – not everyone likes it, if you are not sure, it is better to put it less than more.

№5 Erofeich with St. John’s wort

The first recipe in which Erofey is directly present is St. John’s wort.

• 50 g St. John’s wort;
• Xnumx mint;
• 50 g thyme (thyme);
• 50 g centaury;
• 50 g sweet clover.

№6 Erofeich with galangal and St. John’s wort

• 80 g remaining;
• 50 g St. John’s wort;
• 50 g sweet clover;
• 50 g of mountaineer (highlander, kidney grass);
• Xnumx mint;
• 50 g of savory (not to be confused with thyme);
• 50 g centaury.

No. 7 Erofeich difficult

In the composition – again, galangal or cinquefoil.

• 100 g remaining;
• 60 g sweet clover;
• 60 g centaury;
• 60 g of thyme;
• 60 g of mustard;
• 35 g Chernobyl;
• 35 g of anise;
• 35 g of dill;
• 35 g sage;
• 35 g of angelica;
• 35 g of common juniper;
• 35 g chamomile.

№8 Erofeich with mint and lemon balm

• 25 g of lemon balm;
• 25 g peppermint;
• 20 g St. John’s wort;
• 20 g oregano;
• 15 g chopped hawthorn berries;
• 10 g thyme;
• 10 g sweet clover;
• 10 g of garden marjoram;
• 10 g of white onion;
• 10 g yarrow;
• 10 g of wormwood;
• 5 g cardamom;
• 5 g of anise.

No. 9 Erofeich with … poppy

• 50 g poppy seeds;
• 50 g sage;
• 50 g of shamrock;
• 50 g Chernobyl;
• 50 anise;
• 50 g dill.

I have never heard of poppy being added to tinctures before, but you can try.

№10 Erofeich with ginger

• 100 g of chopped ginger root;
• 40 g of dill;
• 40 g of anise;
• 40 g St. John’s wort;
• 40 g centaury;
• 40 g pochechuynogo mountaineer;
• 40 g of wormwood;
• 40 g of chicory;
• 40 g juniper;
• 40 g thyme;
• 25 g sage;
• 25 g senna (Alexandrian leaf).

In all recipes for tincture on moonshine “Erofeich”, the weight of the ingredients is large, so I highly recommend first making a saturated concentrate per 1 liter of alcohol, and then gradually introducing it into the main mass – the chance to spoil the drink is too great. In extreme cases, the tincture can always be overtaken (if you have an apparatus) or diluted (if you don’t).

In general, do not be afraid to experiment – experts say that erofeich is a purely individual tincture, so there will be no trouble if you exclude or add any ingredient. And do not forget that such a drink should not be abused, as it contains a lot of medicinal herbs that can God knows how to act on the body – a couple of glasses before dinner, no more!