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Real Georgian chacha: how to cook? Video
Chacha is a traditional strong alcoholic drink of the inhabitants of the North Caucasus, which is made from grapes. The alcohol content in it ranges from 55 to 70 degrees. Making chacha is a whole art, and each Georgian winemaker brews this unique drink according to his own recipe, carefully preserved and passed down from generation to generation.
Homemade Georgian chacha recipe
For the production of chacha in Georgia at home, as a rule, grapes of the “Isabella” or “Rkatsiteli” varieties are used. This strong alcoholic drink is brewed from grape cake, which remained after the preparation of juice or wine. It is not difficult to make chacha, the main thing is to withstand its allotted time in a wooden barrel.
Ingredients: – 15 kg of grapes; – 5 kg of sugar; – 15 liters of boiled water.
If you have leftover pomace after making the wine, use it. If not, make a cake with slightly unripe grapes. To do this, put the grapes in a deep enamel bowl and mash thoroughly. Drain the juice, and put the seeds, skin and stalks in a wooden barrel. Add sugar and pre-cooled boiled water to the cake. Mix everything thoroughly, cover and leave for three weeks, stirring every two days.
It is not recommended to wash the grapes, otherwise the plaque necessary for the natural fermentation of raw materials will be washed off.
After the allotted time, start distilling chacha. To do this, strain it into a moonshine still through cheesecloth. This is necessary to separate the pulp, otherwise it can burn and spoil the taste of the chacha. After that, tie the cheesecloth with the pulp and hang it inside the moonshine still to add aroma to the drink. Run the chacha through the apparatus 2 times. Then cool and bottle. After 1,5-2 months, the traditional Georgian drink will be ready to drink.
To check the quality of chacha, Georgian winemakers dip a finger in it and set it on fire. If the fire burns out and does not burn the finger, the chacha is a success. However, it is still not worth checking the strength and quality of this drink in this way.
Cocktails with Georgian chacha
Sakartwell Cocktail
Ingredients: – 40 ml of Georgian chacha; – 20 ml of red vermouth; – 20 ml of lemon vodka.
Mix all the ingredients in a shaker cup, pour into cocktail glasses and garnish with lemon zest. Serve with ice.
Cocktail “Batumi niz”
Ingredients: – 35 ml of chacha; – 2 teaspoons of sugar syrup; – 10 ml of tangerine juice; – 10 ml of lemon juice.
Mix all ingredients. Pour into a glass filled with ice. Add 150 ml soda and serve with lemon and tangerine wedges.
“The Sun of Georgia”
Ingredients: – 50 ml of chacha; – lime; – 150 ml of grape juice; – fresh mint.
Put ice in a narrow tall glass, pour chacha and grape juice. Squeeze the juice of one lime into a glass, add a few fresh mint leaves and stir with a bar spoon. Decorate with grapes.