Riga Balsam: how to drink, how to make, history, benefits and harms

Звание «рижского золота» поровну делят между собой янтарь и шпроты. А вот рижское «черное золото» – это, конечно, исключительно бальзам! Напиток обладает старинной и весьма интересной историей, множеством лечебных свойств, а главное – многогранным вкусом с громадным количеством оттенков – все сразу не распробуешь! Кстати, несмотря на сложную рецептуру, рижский черный бальзам можно приготовить и в домашних условиях. В общем, обо всем по порядку.

A viscous, impenetrable black liquid fills a tiny glass of liquor. Whether it is an alcoholic drink, or a witch’s potion, a mysterious decoction. Before you drink the Riga balm, you bring it to your nose – and you immediately find yourself in the world of medieval pharmacists, herbalists and alchemists – it smells of charm, magic, something frightening, but also alluring at the same time. You take a little sip – the elixir burns your tongue, your throat is covered with unbearable, wormwood bitterness. Poison, poison? But no – in a moment an incredible bouquet of aftertastes and aromas, overtones and overtones of this classical symphony blooms in your mouth. Another second – and the second wave of burning spreads through the body. But you already understand that nothing terrible will happen, and without fear you surrender to the sorcerous goodness pouring through your veins …

“Rizhsky” is without a doubt one of the most characteristic and striking representatives of the “balsamic” family. Of course, not everyone likes to drink Riga Black Balsam in its pure form – it is too shockingly rich, herbal-bitter, viscous and dense drink. But if you add a couple of ingredients to it or splash it in coffee – and the taste softens, and the aroma acquires an even wider palette! Like all balms, “Rizhsky” has a lot of biologically active properties. And like most good alcohol, it has an old, eventful history, during which the drink has repeatedly changed until it has acquired familiar features.

История рижского бальзама или «а может быть ворона?»

To be honest, little is known about the history of the “Black Riga”. It seems that there are dates, and names, and even a couple of more or less reliable recipes have been preserved – read it on Wikipedia – but it is unlikely that all these facts relate to the drink that we know and love – most likely, in the XVII-XVIII , and even in the XNUMXth century it was a completely different balm.

Yes, and those facts that are more reminiscent of a story from a cartoon about a plasticine crow. It seems that Catherine the Second was driving somehow through Riga. Or maybe not the second one. And suddenly she was seized either by a cold, or a migraine, or horse sap renal colic. And he gave her a healing drug Abraham Kuntze – a Riga pharmacist. Or maybe it was not a pharmacist, but a blacksmith. Or maybe not Kunze at all, but his wife, Eva Sophia Emane, or a shoemaker, Andreas Bjorkgrin, or a carpenter, Martin Roslau. No matter what the empress suffered, the drug helped. The royal carriage with flashing lights set off on a further journey, and the Riga Pharmacy Guild received a patent for the manufacture of Kunze’s Balm. True, it was not black, but yellow, as it was painted over with saffron – like pilaf. And the fortress was only 18 °. In short, not the coat.

A distinctive feature of “Rizhsky” is an unusual ceramic container, which has existed since the time of Kunze. Then clay bottles were used for reasons of economy – they were cheaper than glass ones. In subsequent years, such containers became a matter of prestige – indeed, they look pretty, they are even collected! Why bottles, they even collect lead seals that protect the balm from fakes. Famous sphagists have seals from the XNUMXth and even XNUMXth centuries! Whole science…

After that, a complete mess began. In 1770, a ban was imposed on the manufacture of Balsam, the reasons for which are shrouded in a veil of secrecy. But in Russia already in those days no prohibitions were final. When Kunze went bankrupt, the native Latvian Semyon Lelyukhin received a patent for the manufacture of the Riga Black Balsam. Almost immediately after the death of Lelyukhin, in 1796, the Senate again banned the balm. And between the 30s and 40s of the 1845th century, he allowed, now the French merchant Dufo, who was banned again with the same ease a little later. And in 1863, Albert Volshmidt received a patent. And in 1914 – Johann-Heinrich Ion. And in 1918, Nicholas II banned everything in general. And in XNUMX the government of the newly formed Latvian People’s Republic allowed everything back.

By the way, by the end of the 30th century, Black Riga produced more than XNUMX enterprises! Moreover, only a small part of them were located in Riga – the factories of Schwabe, Wolfschmidt, Blosfeld, Hubner, Bertel, Otto Schwartz. There were also factories in Stukmani, Ventspils, Liepaja, even in Estonia and St. Petersburg. Why, the well-known Smirnov (who has two “f”) – and he released his own version! So, there was a balm. That’s just not quite Riga and not quite black.

The Volshmidt factory continued to produce the balm right up to World War II, the master blenders from the Schrader dynasty were engaged in improving the drink. The strength rose to 45°, the color finally “blackened” and, in general, the balm acquired more or less modern features. However, after the occupation of Latvia, the Shraders left the country and took the cherished recipe of “Black Riga” with them. And only in 1954, the technologist of the Riga distillery (now the plant “Latvijas Balzams”), young Maya Podrachniece, restored the recipe using some scraps of notes, the masters’ memories and miraculously preserved Balsam samples. Correctly restored or wrong – no one will know. But since that time, it is this drink – and only it – that can be called the real Black Balsam of Riga.

The recipe for making Riga balsam is not easy, but possible

Now Rigas Melnais Balzams are made only in Riga, the recipe has remained more or less the same as it was 70 years ago. True, the manufacturer, keeping up with the times, is conducting a rather active diversification – in addition to the classic version, a forty-degree version of Element with rum is also produced. There are on sale versions of the Riga balsam with currants and cherries – both at 30 °, just liqueurs. Moreover, following the example of Vana Tallin from neighboring Estonia, Latvijas Balzams released a very “sweet” cream version of the drink, with cream and all that.

We are only interested in the first, authentic version. Moreover, it is her recipe that is well known – after all, it was presented in Soviet prescription reference books. There are a lot of reference books on the Web, so the words that “the real recipe for the Riga balm is kept in the strictest confidence” can only cause a smile. To whom a secret is a secret.

There are many ingredients, not all of them are simple and affordable. Cooking is also not very easy, you will need pharmaceutical scales, good raw materials, patience. The drink is made in two stages: first, an herbal infusion concentrate is prepared, which is then diluted with cognac, vodka, caramel, syrup and alcoholized berry fruit drinks. In the same way, Strizhament or the same Vana Tallinn is made. But where did ours go? But you don’t need to distill anything – only maceration, only hardcore! The proportions are calculated for 10 liters of finished balm.

Да уж, списочек немаленький. Но если какого-то ингредиента нет – можно и обойтись, все равно ведь экспериментируем. Весь наш «грудной сбор» ссыпаем в банку, заливаем алкоголем и отправляем в темное место на настаивание в районе месяца, периодически встряхивая емкость. Далее – сливаем, фильтруем и переходим к следующему этапу.

It is clear that some positions are hard to get. For example, Peruvian balsam oil is sold only in Latvian pharmacies, it is expensive, and, they say, it is forbidden to take it out of Latvia. Get it – it will be better. If you don’t get it – and the dog is with him, a gram per 10 liters of drink, will it be strongly felt? And yes, the recipe is quite varied.

Proportions are possible – and even necessary! – customize “for yourself.” To do this, I recommend experimenting first on a small amount – say, per liter or 0.5 liters. Mix everything, shake well, let stand and try. Few herbs? Need more infusion. Less sweet, more syrup. Not enough color – make more caramel, a free product! And when the proportions are arranged, we write them down and recalculate for the rest of the volume of the drink.

After mixing, the balm must be properly settled – in a dark, cool place. At this time, a precipitate may form in the drink – then it will need to be decanted and filtered. The aging time depends on your own aging. Before drinking home-made Riga balsam, let it rest for at least three months. Better is more. But, if you are completely unbearable – you can try a little bit earlier, who will forbid you!

Как пить рижский бальзам? Польза и вред, эстетика, коктейли

Initially, “Riga Black” as soon as it was not advertised, what useful properties were not attributed to it! And the same colic, and migraines, and colds, and all sorts of stomach ailments. At the end of the XNUMXth century, the balm from the Volshmidt factory was recommended to drink even from … longing! On the pamphlet attached to the bottle, it was written “от тоски принимать по мере сил, а снаружи класть под грудь, а именно под ложечки фланелевый лоскут, обмоченный бальзамом». Да уж, по мере сил…

One way or another, the drink can hardly be called a drug, but it undoubtedly has certain biologically active properties – after all, such a “broom” of medicinal herbs in the composition! It has been personally verified that it perfectly helps with a hangover, relieves fatigue and headaches, promotes digestion as a digestif. However, all this applies to a maximum of one glass of balm at a time. Drinking it a lot is not recommended – it will be nasty, this is also checked by your obedient servant. And for people with pronounced hypertension, heart disease, blood vessels, diabetes, inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, it is generally better to refrain from taking it.

As for the ways of drinking the Riga Balsam, there are many of them. There is even an entire Black Magic balm bar in Riga, and Latvia hosts the annual Riga Black Balsam Global Cocktail Challenge, where mixologists from all over the world compete in the art of composing and preparing various cocktails based on this unique drink. In cocktails, it is used both as a bitter, to shade other drinks and give them a characteristic bitterness, and as the main ingredient.

You can also drink Riga Black Balsam simply with ice – the ice will slightly dilute the bitterness and richness, allowing you to appreciate all the gradations of aroma. Classic – just add a little balm to hot coffee. It is very tasty, much tastier than brandy or whiskey. Well, my favorite option is in its pure form, not chilled, from a tiny glass. That’s when you realize that you really drink something not ordinary, interesting in taste and effect, allowing you to look at the world of good alcohol from a completely different angle!

The article uses materials from sites: cigartime (article by Vladimir Lazarev), drinks.ua, the homedistiller forum and other sources.