Polish Beverages & Liqueurs

Polish Bitter Vodka for the Stomach (Żołądkowa Gorzka)

November 12, 2018 by polishhousewife 4 Comments

Polish Bitter Vodka for the Stomach (Żołądkowa Gorzka) is part of the long tradition in Poland of infusing vodka with fruit and herbs known as nalweka. The process, I which I absolutely love, dates back to the 16th century.

Originally popular and exclusive to the manor homes, by the mid 1800s, everyone was making nalweka and many books on the subject were starting to appear.

Popularity of Żołądkowa Gorzka

This particular flavored vodka has the added benefit of being good for the health. Or at least that’s what every one I’ve talked to in Poland believes. It is accepted as fact. I came across one Polish blog that went on for a full paragraph promising that Żołądkowa Gorzka is what is needed to fix many a digestive ailment.

Improved digestion aside, we drink it because we like the taste. We like it so much that we took a bottle on a trip to Ireland where we rendezvoused with our niece and her fiance. They loved the stomach vodka, and were excited to tell us they had found it stateside when they returned.

On one visit to the USA while we were living in Poland, I knew I would visit the restaurant of a chef I had connected with online. I brought along a small bottle of Żołądkowa Gorzka that I picked up in the duty-free shop at the Poznan airport. He loved it.

It’s become our go-to gift from Poland.

What flavors the vodka in Żołądkowa Gorzka?

My usual reference from tinctures the Great Book of Tinctures, uses black coffee and honey to flavor Żołądkowa made with spiritus and rum. For this recipe, I’m ignoring the great book and taking inspiration from a couple of Polish websites, Polki.pl and Wielkie Żarcie.

The bottle of stomach vodka we purchased stateside says it’s an orange and clove flavored vodka. Both of those flavors are present in my recipe, but there are other spices too. And while I think clove is often needed, I like it in very small doses, so you may choose to give it more prominence than I do.

I think the spice combo will be one to play around with. I’m thinking the next batch might include star anise and a few raisins.

A word of warning – the ground spices will sink to the bottom and become kind of a sludge, much like when I make chai with ground spices. You’ll lose some of the liquid volume because of this.

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Cocktails with Żołądkowa Gorzka

If you’re looking for a use other than sipping a chilled shot of Żołądkowa Gorzka after dinner, I have a few ideas for you.

Żołądkowa Gorzka and tonic water, garnish with a slice of orange
Żołądkowa Gorzka with lemonade and sparkling water, garnish with mint or fresh ginger slices
A martini of equal parts Żołądkowa Gorzka and orange juice, finish with a dash of ground cinnamon and a squeeze of lime
Muddle 4 slices of cucumber, add Żołądkowa Gorzka and lime juice, top with lemon-lime soda

Have you tried Żołądkowa Gorzka? If you haven’t been able to find it near you, now you can make your own!

Na zdrowie!

Lois

Polish Bitter Vodka for the Stomach (Żołądkowa Gorzka)

Author: polishhousewife

Description

An orange and spice liqueur reported to be good for the stomach

Ingredients

750 ml vodka
zest of 1 orange
1 whole clove
2 whole allspice
1/4 to 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Instructions

Combine all ingredients
Cover and store for a couple of weeks to two months
Swirl or shake occasionally to dissolve sugar
Strain and then filter through a coffee filter
Serve chilled

Notes

Optinal: add a tablespoon of raisins and/or 1/8 teaspoon of ground star anise

Vary the sugar amounts and water based on your taste

5 Polish Flavored Liqueurs (Nalewki)

October 17, 2018 by polishhousewife 3 Comments

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.

Polish Mad Dog Shot (Wściekły Pies)

August 24, 2018 by polishhousewife 4 Comments

I hadn’t been in Poznań long before I was introduced to the Polish Mad Dog Shot (Wściekły Pies), and it quickly became a favorite. We often like to have a Mad Dog with friends as they arrive at our place for dinnner. It’s different and a little crazy. It breaks the ice, but we become more sensible as the evening goes on, so everyone is ready to drive home when the time comes.

With only three ingredients, it’s a shot of surprising complexity. There is, of course, the burn of the vodka, that is quickly offset by the raspberry syrup, and as a final note the Tobasco heat keeps the syrup from being too sweet.

It’s over in a flash and leaves you wondering how to describe what you just experienced. If your not a fan of Tabasco, just leave it out. The drink now in front of you with the red stripe on bottom and the clear vodka on top is called a Polish Flag.

Keeping the distinct layers that make this drink so visually striking is much easier if both the vodka and syrup are chilled. You can also add to your success by using an upside down teaspoon to difuse the vodka pour and have it gentlely settle on top of the red syrup. If you have trouble finding the raspberry syrup, check Cost Plus World Market if you have one nearby, or of course, everything can be found on Amazon.

I feel a little silly putting something so simple into the recipe app, but that’s how you let Google and other search engines know that you’re writing a recipe.

Na zdrowie!

Lois

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