Krupnik

[masonjar]

A friend of mine donated a case of wine bottles a while back and, much to my surprise, he had 4 full 1 ltr bottles of mead sitting in his garage for the past 10 years. They were stored cork up and didn't taste like mead should taste so I ran it through the pot still today just for kicks. It has a really strong honey flavor still so I might run it one more time just to tone it down a bit and maybe oak it. There ain't much here though.

Has anyone here distilled mead before? I guess it's called 'Krupnik' in Poland.

[Aidas]

Krupnikas is a traditional LITHUANIAN drink!

Aidas

[masonjar]

Oh really? How is it? I just looked up 'distilled mead' on wikipedia and it mentioned Poland. I've never heard of it before.

[Rebel_Yell]

What kind of yield did you get on the first run? I make mead for the honey taste (NOT sweetness) and have wanted to try distilling it.

[Aidas]

Krupnikas is nice, especially on cold winter days, of after kayaking in a cold river.

It's usually made spicy (cloves, cinamon) and sweet.

By the way, check the wiki for krupnik now...

Aidas

[Tater]

Krupnikas Recipe
A Lithuanian Honey Liquor
Compiled and presented here for your pleasure by Lord Riekin

Ingredients

* 2 Tbsp orange peel
* 1 Tbsp lemon peel
* 3 sticks cinnamon (break lightly)
* 4-5 pods of cardamon, lightly crushed
* 1 nutmeg, lightly crushed
* 3-5 cloves (leave whole)
* 1 tsp. fennel seed, crushed
* 3-4 allspice, lightly crushed
* 1 tsp black pepper, lightly crushed
* 1 tsp white pepper, lightly crushed
* or 2 tsp grains of paradise, lightly crushed
* 3-4 thin slices white ginger
* 3-4 thin slices red ginger (if available)
* 1 Tbsp or 3 sticks of vanilla
* a pinch of saffron (for color)
* 3 lbs. honey
* 2 quarts of water if using Everclear or 1 quart if using Vodka
* 750 ml Everclear or Vodka

Put water in large pot. Simmer dry spices until fragrant. Add moist spices. When blended, add honey, simmer but do not boil. When honey is dissolved, remove spices (strainer). Remove from any flame source and add alcohol. Let cool and bottle in sterilized containers. Makes 2-3 quarts. Some people drink this right away, but it is highly recommended that you let it age in the bottle in a dark, cool place, for at least 6 months. The longer this ages, the better it gets. (Two year old Krupnikas is as smooth as the best brandies.)

[Tater]

KRUPNIKAS Liqueur

KRUPNIKAS liqueur is a beverage of the perfectly balanced apian honey and vegetative raw material; it has sweet, slightly burning taste, yellowish golden colour.

KRUPNIKAS is Lithuanian honey liqueur the formula secrets of which used to be passed from one generation to another for centuries. Bernardines who were settled in M.K. Radvila Našlaitėlis Nesvyžius made this unique liqueur of honey and sweet-scented herbs. For the first time, officially, in the year 1593 guests were treated to KRUPNIKAS on the occasion of construction of the Nesvyžius Radvilai Castle

KRUPNIKAS liqueur is produced at ‘Strumbras’ of the rectified grain ethyl alcohol produced by means of the double distillation and softened drinking water that undergoes a six-stage filtration system, natural vegetative raw materials that perfectly go with natural apian honey. In the process of preparation of the ratafia, the vegetative raw material shall be necessarily thoroughly graded and shredded, by brewing it with the mixture of rectified ethyl alcohol and water. Later, the ratafia is thoroughly mixed up on daily basis and matured for the fixed period of time in oaken barrels.

Afterwards, KRUPNIKAS liqueur shall be stored for a long while in special tanks (containers). Upon the clarification and a certain maturity term, KRUPNIKAS undergoes the process of triple filtration with the highest-grade filters. After such treatment, the liqueur becomes particularly clear, acquires wonderful golden colour, and is instantly recognizable by its extraordinary and perfectly co-ordinated mixture of honey, sweet-scent herbs and grain rectified ethyl alcohol. Thanks to it, the liqueur KRUPNIKAS reveals its magic flavour reminding us of the wonderful Lithuanian forests, meadow grass mixed with nectar of apian honey.

The said real Lithuanian liqueur KRUPNIKAS is the only liqueur in the world that shall be drunk when heated up to 50° C temperature, from small crystal glasses. It used to be relished by Lithuanian monks Bernardines, true grandees and noblemen. The foregoing tradition has remained up to nowadays. KRUPNIKAS goes well with coffee and tea, particularly when the weather is cold and wet. That is a really classical beverage, tested by centuries and highly appreciated by the noble society.

[masonjar]

What kind of yield did you get on the first run?

I only had 4 litres of mead to begin with. It had almost no taste at all to it so I was thinking that all the alcohol had evaporated out through the cork. But I discovered that it did have a surprising amount of alcohol in there - maybe 8-10% even. I tossed about 150-200mL out for heads and kept 350mL and didn't bother collecting tails. I stopped collecting when the output was down to around 40%. I have a small 350mL bottle full of 55%. It has a very strong honey taste to it and it was rather harsh coming straight out of the still - but that's normal. I decided to let it air out for a while and I'll decide if it should go again or not. I probably should have just made a stripping run and made cuts the second time around, but oh well. I really had no expectations for this when I started.

It does seem like something that would be good with spices. Hey Aidas, is the traditional Krupnikas made with distilled mead or made with mixing vodka and honey? Tater's research seems to show that it isn't distilled mead.

Man, I wish I would have discovered some forgotten 10 year old homemade booze instead of 10 year old mead.

[Rebel_Yell]

Thanks for the info Masonjar.

[moonjava]

Krupnik is not an alcohol made by distillation of mead.

Krupnik is a sweet vodka/liqueur made by mixing: neutral alcohol, water, honey and spices extracts.

Krupnik in Poland = Krupnikas in Lithuania. The same liqueur. Just different names.

[CTCZ]

If you are interested in making your own Krupnik at home, you can visit:
http://www.KrupnikCo.com

They offer Krupnik spice packs for sale. You add your own honey and vodka, and it takes about an hour to make. Excellent stuff, highly recommended.