Strizhament is a bitter straw-colored tincture with the aroma of steppe herbs from the foothills of the Caucasus with a well-balanced mild taste and slight notes of bitterness. The drink is combined with meat dishes, mainly served at room temperature as an aperitif to increase appetite. In Soviet times, the tincture was considered the branded spirit of the party elite and helped Mikhail Gorbachev “open the doors of the Kremlin offices.”
Historical information
The Stavropol distillery was founded in 1868 by merchant Ivan Alafuzov for the production of bread wine (then the name of vodka and grain distillates). Over time, the assortment of the enterprise expanded, but nationwide fame came to the plant only after the invention of the Strizhament tincture. The recipe was developed in 1977 by the director of the enterprise Tamara Karlova on behalf of the then First Secretary of the Regional Committee of the CPSU Mikhail Gorbachev in honor of the 200th anniversary of the city of Stavropol.
The plant and tincture are named after the mountain of the same name in Ciscaucasia, on which at the end of the XNUMXth century there was a fortification retrenchment – an internal defensive fence with trenches behind the main position for shelling the enemy. The soldiers who served in the local garrison called this position Strizhament (according to one of the versions, because of the many swifts that built their nests nearby), over time, the name was attached to the mountain itself.
Party functionaries of not only the republican, but also the all-Union scale became connoisseurs of the tincture, so Strizhament almost immediately became a deficit and an expensive gift. For ordinary Soviet citizens, it was a valuable souvenir that could be brought back from a trip to the Caucasus. It is believed that it was Strizhament that helped Gorbachev in many ways to solve the problems of the Stavropol Territory and move up the career ladder up to the Secretary General of the USSR.
In modern Russia, production has stopped more than once, and after the bankruptcy of the plant, it was transferred from Stavropol to the Kuban (returned back in 2012). As a result of all the changes, the current version of Strizhament bears little resemblance to the original Soviet one, even the composition of the tincture has changed – new herbs have been added. But there is an original recipe from the “Collection of recipes for alcoholic beverages” in 1981, according to which you can recreate the tincture at home.
Classic Strijament recipe
Ingredients for 1 liter of tincture:
- vodka (alcohol 40%) – 1,25 liters;
- cognac – 50 ml;
- clarified apple juice from green apples – 75 ml;
- mint – 3 grams;
- melissa – 2 grams;
- St. John’s wort – 2 grams;
- oak shavings – 2 grams;
- angelica – 2 grams;
- sweet clover – 2 grams;
- thyme – 1 gram;
- yarrow – 0,5 grams;
- wormwood – 0,5 grams;
- hyssop – 0,5 grams.
Herbs can be purchased at pharmacies or specialty stores. The alcohol base must be of high quality – the original recipe uses diluted “lux” or “alpha” alcohol, respectively, vodka of the same class is suitable. First, an extract is made, which is then mixed with cognac, apple juice and pure alcohol. To accurately measure herbs, it is advisable to have a kitchen scale.
Preparation
1. Put the herbs in a glass container and pour 250 ml of vodka (alcohol). Close hermetically, transfer to a dark place at room temperature, leave for 7 days, shake once a day, then strain through cheesecloth, squeeze the herbs slightly. Filter the liquid part through cotton wool or a coffee filter. Get a herbal extract, which is enough for 10 liters of finished tincture.
2. Mix apple juice, cognac and 23-25 ml of herbal extract made in the previous step in a liter glass container. Top up the container to 1 liter with vodka (diluted alcohol). Mix.
3. Hermetically close, leave for 21 days. Shake every 3-4 days.
The resulting homemade Strizhament is immediately ready for use. Fortress – 36-37%. Shelf life when stored away from direct sunlight – up to 3 years.