Friends have noticed my passion for Polish flavored liqueurs (nalewki). Commercial versions are available, but my favorite are the homemade variety. I enjoy them so much that I’m willing to painstakingly type Polish recipes into Google Translate to try them out.
Nalweki translates to tinctures (medicines made by dissolving a drug in alcohol), and many varieties are thought to have medicinal qualities, but I’m after the heartfelt social benefits of sharing something that you began to prepare months ago with friends.
Most often, I’m using some seasonal fruit, sugar and vodka. Allowing osmosis to work until the fruit is very boozy and the vodka is very fruity. Usually this slow addition of fruit juice to the spirits yields a product that is lower in alcohol than vodka.
This makes it easier to sip, more pleasurable fruity flavors to savor, and less burn going down.
What better way to honor your dinner guests than to pull out a bottle of your homemade liqueur at the end of a meal? To help you in that end, I’ve prepared this round-up of my five favorite nakweki.
My current favorite and popular classic is a cherry liqueur, but who knows what will come next. I’m interesting in trying something with ginger. Making these traditional recipes made me bold enough to my hand at creating blueberry and apple flavored liqueurs inspired by a local chef’s house made moonshine.
In the interest of full disclosure, I earn a small commission on purchases via the Amazon links below.
I’m eager to hear about your nalewki making adventures. What’s your favorite? Did you go all out, make gallons to present all your friends with gift bottles? Na zdrowie! — Lois
- Cherry liqueur – Wisniak or Wisniowka, depending on whether it’s made with sweet or sour cherries according to some, but I find Wisniowka the more commonly used term, and to be honest, it’s just fun to say.
- Lemon liqueur – Cytrynowka, similar to the more widely know Italian limoncello, and easy to make if you live in the southwest or Florida where friends are always looking to give you a few bags of lemons in the winter. It’s our equivalent of leave zucchini on your neighbor’s porch day.
- Tangerine liqueur – Mandarynkowa, I’ve made this two different ways, more recently just using the zest and not the juice, both are delicious.
- Plum liqueur – Sliwkowa, plums are such a classic flavor is Polish cuisine. I like this for sipping or it makes a tasty cocktail with tonic water.
- Honey spice liqueur – Krupnik, the same name is also given to a barley soup, but we’re talking about the liqueur (no barley), it’s reported to be very good for a cold or cough.
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Magdalena Hiszpańska
Those liqueurs sounds delicious 😀
polishhousewife
Thank you, Madgdalena; you’re so kind to take the time to comment! 🙂
Jo
Pierogies! YUM I grew up eating these often My Grandma and my Mom made them I still do
Sue Wojcik-Houghtaling
Your website is awesome. It was nice getting some Polish recipes to try. Thank you
polishhousewife
Thanks, Sue; I appreciate your kind words.
Monica Petrosky
I’m making plum liquer now, two weeks in. Can’t wait to taste it.
polishhousewife
Na zdrowie, Monica!
Steve Rybczynski
Cześć! Thanks for sharing your nalewka journey. You inspired me to try my hand at it so I bought the Wielka Księga and went hog-wild. I was forced to practice and stretch my Polski too which would have made my Babcia very happy:). The ginger-lemon is super fun and yummy but the strawberry (truskawkowa) is to die for if you can get good fruit from a farmers market or fruit stand. Nazdrowie!
polishhousewife
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the book, Steve. I’ll mention the lastest thing I’ve tried in making nalewki, sous vide. I made some with strawberries this summer and our sous vide device. It was done in a few hours, but the best part was that the color was so bright and red.
Karen Zaorski
I just used cheese cloth to strain and bottle my cherry Wisnowski after aging it for 4 months. I can’t wait for it to age a little longer and then share it over the holidays. Okay…so I did have a teeny tiny taste to ensure that it was as delicious as I expected!! And it was so flavorful 🙂 I’m very pleased with this easy recipe.
I’m trying to decide what to do with all the vodka soaked cherries. It would be such a waste not to use them. I’m happy to put them over ice cream…a no brainer so easy, but I’m also wondering it there’s a nice cake or other dessert recipe you might suggest I try with these vodka soaked cherries.
Natalia
When are you coming out with your nalewki book?
polishhousewife
Maybe next year, Natatlia. Life keeps getting in the way. 😉