Tarasun (another name is archi) is a strong alcoholic drink in Buryatia (Russia, Siberia), made by distillation of sour whey (khuremge). It is used not only for domestic use, but also in local religious ceremonies. It is believed that tarasun for a Buryat is about the same as whiskey for a Scot (the drink is even called “milk whiskey” or “milk vodka”).
It is difficult to trace the origin of Tarasun – apparently, it appeared on the territory of Buryatia in the XNUMXth century thanks to the Mongols, who taught the captured peoples how to distill, and milk alcohol has long been part of the diet of nomadic tribes.
Features
Tarasun is a cloudy greenish-whitish drink that smells and tastes like fortified whey. Some tasters note notes of cow dung in the “bouquet”. The Buryats say that a person either immediately likes tarasun, or he will never get used to milk distillate.
Technology of preparation
Tarasun is handicraft, there are no official commercial brands in Buryatia. Accordingly, you can’t buy a drink in a store – but you can find many types of tarasun in the local market, you can also order milk alcohol in a restaurant specializing in traditional Buryat cuisine.
First, they make khuremge – milk brew. To do this, take fat milk, separate the whey from the cream, into which the starter is added. The strength of the finished brew is only 1-3 degrees, in Buryatia even children drink it, especially since such a low-alcohol drink is considered a source of vitamins and calcium.
Then khuremge is distilled in homemade stills. There is no single recipe: someone is limited to a single distillation and gets a drink with a strength of ~ 20%, others subject the mash to multiple distillations, the strength of such a tarasun is higher than 40% vol.
Some sources indicate cow’s milk as the basis of the drink, while others argue that the milk should be mare’s.
The technology for the production of national Buryat alcohol has not changed for hundreds of years, local residents do not use modern high-tech equipment, but home-made devices, which are literally a boiler, a pipe and a container for collecting distillate, therefore, in terms of quality, the drink leaves much to be desired.
On the other hand, this method of production allows you to fully preserve the unique taste of the product.
In the production of tarasun, cottage cheese remains, which is also used as food.
How to drink tarasun
The Buryats consider tarasun “soma” (sacred Indian drink of the gods). It is mandatory served at all significant events, such as a wedding or birthday, they are also escorted on their last journey.
In 1917, after the February Revolution, a commission met in Irkutsk, which forbade drinking tarasun without a religious reason. It is clear that this prescription is not carried out too carefully, but officially the milk distillate remains a drink for celebrations and rituals.
The American writer Sharon Hudgins in her book The Other Side of Russia describes the ritual of drinking tarasun in this way: all participants in the action stood around the fire and passed a mug of milk distillate around. Before taking a sip from it, each dipped the middle finger of the right hand into the liquid and shook a few drops into the fire or onto the ground. When the mug made a full circle, the first Buryat drank the remaining alcohol in it to the end.
Tarasun is served cold, it is better to eat it with the national Buryat dish “buuzy” (something like dumplings, only larger). Tarasun also goes well with the Mongolian vermicelli “tsuivang”.