On a business trip, a Latvian friend told me how to make the same “Riga balm” from the USSR: I share his recipe

Once I got on a business trip with a Latvian. By the nature of our work (we are specialists in reforestation), we had to live for several months in a small hut in the forest.

One of the evenings we were talking about national alcoholic drinks. It was then that I first heard about the Riga Balsam.

The story was sent by our subscriber Alexey.

What is this drink

Janis – that was the name of my colleague, said that the Latvians call this balm black gold. The people attribute many properties to it, including magical ones.

It is believed that he can bring a person out of depression, make him happy and continue in the same spirit. It appeared in the XNUMXth century and at first was used exclusively by healers. After some time, people realized that if you add a little more alcohol than you need to this “potion”, you get a good drink.

So the balm acquired the modern status of a bitter – a strong herbal tincture.

Interesting fact! There is a legend that Empress Catherine the Great respected the Balsam of Riga during her trip to the Baltics.

What ingredients and equipment will be needed

Janis told all this so interestingly and colorfully that I even asked him if it was possible to make a balm at home. The colleague replied that it was possible, but the process itself was quite difficult. Well, the attempt is not torture.

When Janis announced the ingredients, my eyes almost popped out of my head, however, the enthusiasm played out even more. Something really worthwhile and unusual should come out of all this.

So, to prepare the Riga balsam you will need:

1. Premium vodka – 1 bottle. We decided to take Beluga for 1510 rubles. I had to go to the city, where at the same time we bought the rest of the ingredients that are not possible to get in the forest.
2. Ground ginger – 2,4 gr.
3. Melissa – 2 gr.
4. Gentian (root) – 4 gr.
5. Valerian officinalis (root) – 2 gr.
6. Calamus marsh (root) – 2 gr.
7. Oak (bark) – 1,6 gr.
8. Wormwood (leaves) – 3 gr.
9. Dried garden mint – 2,5 gr.
10. Peppercorns – 1,2 gr.
11. Ginger (ground root) – 2,4 gr.
12. Linden (inflorescences) – 1,6 gr.
13. St. John’s wort – 1,5 gr.
14. Arnica mountain (color) – 1,6 gr.
15. Pomeranian (peel) – 1,2 gr. (can be replaced with kumquat or tangerine zest).
16. Three-leaf watch – 1 gr.
17. Nutmeg – 1 gr.

Note! Most of the herbs we collected in the forest, however, if the balm is prepared in the city, they can be purchased at a pharmacy or specialized stores. The total cost of Riga balsam prepared at home is about 5 thousand rubles.

Additional Ingredients

In addition, raspberry and blueberry tincture must be added to the balm. So we add here two more lists of ingredients.

For raspberry tincture:

• red raspberries – 450 gr.;
• vodka – 0,75 ml.

For blueberry:

• dried blueberries – 60 gr.;
• vodka – 240 ml.

In addition, you need dark caramel. For her you will need:

• 2 kg of sugar;
• 1 L of water;
• 16 gr. citric acid.

Additional ingredients were:

1. Cognac – 400 ml. It must be of good quality. We took Ararat for 1300 rubles.
2. Peruvian balsam oil – 1 gr.

The list, of course, impressed me, but Janis said that it must be strictly adhered to. I had to make a raid into the city for food and into the forest for herbs.

The cooking process

The cooking process itself, in my opinion, turned out to be less complicated than collecting the ingredients. In a glass jar, we filled the first 16 components with vodka and left the case to infuse for a month. Janis periodically stirred the liquid with a wooden spoon.

After 30 days, the future balm was filtered through gauze. While the balm was infused, we made berry tinctures.

Raspberry prepared like this:

1. Berries and 450 ml of vodka were mixed in equal amounts in a glass container and left to infuse for 6 days, stirring the contents daily.
2. Strained the tincture.
3. Added 300 ml of less strong vodka (30%) and again set to infuse for 6 days. Then filtered again.

Blueberry is almost the same:

1. Mixed 140 ml of vodka and 60 gr. berries, mixed and left to infuse for 10 days, stirring in the morning and evening.
2. Filtered.
3. Added 100 ml of slightly less strong vodka, and again left to infuse for 10 days, stirring at the same frequency.

Next came the turn of the caramel.

This was probably the simplest component for us. Water is mixed with sugar and brought to a boil, after which citric acid is added to it. Then the whole thing is cooked until it turns into a dark viscous mass. It took us an hour.

So, when all the components were ready, we just had to mix them together and leave to infuse again. True, this time, already for three months.

Important! When the balm is infused, it must be filtered again.

What will happen in the end and how to submit

Alcohol was infused a few weeks before our departure from the forest. Wasting no time, we decided to have a tasting and poured ourselves a glass.

The balm turned out black and a little viscous. This, I must say, surprised me a little, but Janis said that it should be so.

The taste of the Riga balsam resembled some kind of medicine, and it smelled about the same, but this was its highlight. In general, after the first glass, I realized that our time and money were well spent.

Janis immediately warned that the balm should not be abused. This may lead to undesirable consequences. Apparently, this is why in his native Riga this bitter is served in small glasses, along with a cup of coffee or tea.

There, by the way, you can add the balm itself. Such a peculiar cocktail, according to Janis, is made quite often in his homeland.

Have you ever tried Riga Balsam?

Dear readers, remember that alcohol abuse harms your body. Take care of yourself!