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Domestic elite alcohol in tsarist Russia was a rarity. But there were exceptions to this rule, and one of them was Starka. This difficult to manufacture, pleasant-tasting rye vodka with a mild aroma was the pride of distillers and a favorite “delicacy” of Polish, Lithuanian, Belarusian, Ukrainian landowners.
And in Soviet times, the drink of the same name – stark bitters – became a real legend among alcoholic aesthetes, who were not satisfied with the quality of ordinary products of the alcohol industry. Let’s try to figure out what this unfairly forgotten alcohol is, and is it possible to repeat the famous starka recipe at home?
Starka is a drink with history!
“Wandering his eyes, Ivan Savelyevich declared that on Thursday afternoon he got drunk alone in his office at the Variety, after which he went somewhere, but he doesn’t remember where, he drank starka somewhere else, but where he doesn’t remember, somewhere he was lying under a fence, but again he doesn’t remember where ”
“The Master and Margarita”
From childhood, when reading these lines, Michal Afanasicha, I was excited by the question – what kind of booze, unknown to me, knocked out the memory of the Variety administrator? But neither peers, nor adults, nor even old people knew anything about Stark. I had to grow up in ignorance, until, finally, I got around to understanding the topic.
So, get acquainted: Onegin, my good friend. Born on the shores of Lithuania, approximately in the XIV-XV century. At that time, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was one of the largest distillation centers in Europe. It is not known whether the English colleagues advised the magnates to make such a tricky potion, or whether the starka recipe was already known among the peasants … One way or another, the drink quickly gained popularity, becoming, in fact, the only alternative to degtinė and Polish palniki – low-quality single distillation moonshine.
For the starka, the fermented rye must was distilled twice, after which the most interesting part began – aging. The drink, placed in oak barrels, was placed in the basement, which maintained a constant temperature of about 12 degrees, and sometimes it was smeared with wax and buried in the ground. Barrels were taken special, from under port wine, which reduced the concentration of tannins and gave the stark a special color and aroma.
A “secret ingredient” was added to each container – leaves of apples, pears, sometimes other fruit trees or lindens, herbs and spices. The “semi-finished product” was infused for a very long time – at least 10 years, but it really “matured” only by the age of 40. The legend says that the lords pawned their first barrel of starka when their heir was born, and drank it only on major holidays.
“I really did have a few bottles of Starkey, although not as old as I boasted, but I expected that the power of suggestion would add several decades to it … In any case, it was a genuine homemade, stunning starka, the pride of the cellar of a ruined tycoon.”
Kuprin
Wikipedia tells us that at the moment the only manufacturer of this drink according to traditional recipes is the Polish company Polmos from the city of Szczecin, which even produced the 50-year-old Starka 50 letnia. It is not clear whether this factory makes starka now – but I managed to find out that at one time it produced real kosher vodka. I wish I could try this one, and have a bite of smoked lard!
However, there is another plant “STUMBRAS”, “Zubr” in Lithuanian Kaunas, which produces vodka brand “Stumbro Starka” in compliance with the old recipe. But getting a bottle of such a potion is not so easy, I have not seen it in stores. On the Internet it costs about 20 bucks for 0.7.
10 years in 10 days
In the XNUMXth century, potato alcohol and cheap vodka from it began to be mass-produced in Russia. The symptoms of intoxication from such a “byrla” are extremely impartial, as well as a severe hangover after its use. The discerning consumer began to look for better alcohol – and Starka vodka appeared on the tables, which by that time had become extremely popular in Eastern Europe.
During the Soviet era, the drink also did not disappear anywhere – connoisseurs knew and loved it. Even Venechka Erofeev himself, author of the bestseller Moscow Petushki, advised:two hours in a row drink something strong, starka, or St. John’s wort, or hunting. Drink large glasses, after half an hour a glass, avoiding any snacks if possible.
It is not known, however, whether the recipe was observed in the production, but the labels simply wrote: “Old Vodka”, however, the aging term was not indicated. Over time, the tincture on pear-apple leaves began to be included in the recipe for the Stark bitter tincture. Hence the confusion in the names.
By the way, the composition of this new starka is quite interesting:
- Alcoholic infusion of apple leaves (“Rosemary”) and pear “Alexander Bera”. The infusion can be prepared by yourself if you mix 50 g of apple and 20 g of pear leaves, pour 1 liter of 70% alcohol and leave for a week.
- Actually, vodka.
- Cognac.
- Port wine.
- Vanilla flavoring and coloring.
It would seem to interfere with vodka with port? Excuse me, is it possible to do this? Woland would have asked from the same Bulgakov. But no, they made and drank, and, they say, the taste of the tincture was not bad. However, you can still feel it now – almost according to an authentic recipe, this “bitter” is made by the Moscow “Kristall”, the Odessa “Shustov” and other manufacturers.
And finally – a couple of recipes for home experiments.
“Stark”. Bitters. Recipe #1
- vodka, 50% alcohol or moonshine – 3 liters
- lemon – 1 pcs.
- sugar – 2 t.l.
- ground coffee – 1 tsp
- oak bark – 45 gr.
- ground nutmeg – half a teaspoon
- vanillin – 2 grams.
Cut the lemon, add the rest of the ingredients, pour vodka. Infuse for 10 days, filter several times. If there is not enough sweetness, add sugar syrup.
“Soviet Stark”. Bitters. Recipe #2
- vodka – 1 l. (if there is double-distilled rye moonshine, the recipe will be more authentic)
- alcohol infusion of apple-pear leaves (see above) – 25 ml.
- fructose – 1 tsp (I think you can easily replace sugar syrup)
- vanillin – on the tip of a knife
- Cognac – 50 ml.
- port wine – 100 ml.
Insist in a sealed container for 5 days.
But it’s quite possible to make a real stark at home, especially for those who live in a private house with a good cellar. You just need to drive out the rye moonshine and get an oak barrel of wine, pear and apple leaves in our latitudes – no problem. And then – patience and more patience! If the old legends do not lie, in a few decades your efforts will be rewarded a hundredfold!