20 replies to this topic

[Alan Thicker]

Interesting read in google...

https://epicureandcu...wka-recipe/amp/

I’m intrigued enough, I may give this a shot

[Mya]

Very interesting read moon, a Polish American gentleman of my acquaintance Frank (actually the old biker my Grandma shacked up with when she divorced Grandpa) shared stories of his own Grandpa (born in Poland) making something like this in his Omaha, Nebraska basement in the 1930s. 

[Darterboy]

Fruit, sugar and Everclear. I'm definitely trying this. I have neighbor who brings me 10 lbs of blueberries every summer from his parents' farm, so...

[neddles]

I have a massive crop of black currants ripening and several pounds still frozen from last year. I may give this one a try.

http://redapple.rest...currant-nalewka

[Alan Thicker]

Noice.. I’d like to do this with either cherries, raspberries, or strawberries...

[jayb151]

Ah man, I used to make this all the time. Actually, my grandmother would make it out of flavored syrups, and that's what my Polish family would drink at celebrations.

 

I took her recipe and started making them with real fruit. Super tasty stuff. My favorite one was plum/mint.

[Alan Thicker]

Care to share your recipe?

[jayb151]

Easy dude (though depending on where you live you might have to sub).

 

Grandma always used Spirytus, as it's the choice drink of Poles in the the Chicagoland area. Though, never drink it straight. My mouth hurt for two days after I tried a shot. 

 

My grandma's recipe is as follows:

• 1 bottle Spirytus
• Refill bottle with water and add that
• 1 bottle of sour cherry syrup. Polmos makes their own brand I believe. 

 

She would make a big batch of it so we would have many sitting around for any time we got together...though she never drank the stuff. As a younger person, it was great to have that sweet liquor after dinner, but as I grew up and started drinking craft, I wanted to make something similar but with less sugar and more natural flavor. My recipe is as follows:

 

• 1 bottle Spirytus
• refill bottle with water and add
• a mason jar full of whatever ingredients I could find

 

that's the only recipe I can give you. I would go to the local Italian grocer and buy one of their big boxes of fruit that was about to go bad. It would be something like 10lbs of plums for $2. I'd cut the plums into big sections, fill a mason jar full and top it up with the watered down Spirytus. Let it sit for a month or so. Longer is better. Then drain off the liquor and you've got an awesome drink to share. I've experimented with plums, peaches, cherries, blackberries. Pretty much anything you want can be added, and you get to eat the fruit when you go to pour off the booze. Like I said, one of the best one's I've done was red plum and mint. I've also done lemoncello the same way by just using the yellow of a lemon. the lemon lime one didn't turn out as good though. Lime's just not bright enough IMHO.

 

ALSO, I've experimented with using just a bottle of vodka. That's probably the second best option. Do NOT try making this with undiluted spirits, it pulls a lot of astringency from the fruit and tastes bad, even after you water it down to be the same abv for consumption. 

 

So, my grandmother actually passed away about two weeks ago. It might be time to do a new batch in her honor. I do have a bunch of frozen blueberries...Thanks for bringing this up!

 

And I'll leave you with this. I found this guy on facebook who is super inactive, but does have some recipes and whatnot: https://www.facebook...40021829373263/

[Alan Thicker]

Nice... Getting fruit is not a problem, but I’ll have to go with 151 EverClear(that’s the only rectified spirit I can get in California)

[jayb151]

Yea, I know the Polish stuff isn't widely available. I'd consider playing with the water % to make your drink as strong as it should be. I'd shoot for about 40-45% abv when adding to fruit, as it should also help knock it down a bit.

 

Cheers!

[Alan Thicker]

Thanks! I’ll have to give it a go when I’m able to

[Poptop]

I wonder how it would be with shine.  I was just gifted a bottle; very clear, very potent.

[Mya]

I wonder how it would be with shine.  I was just gifted a bottle; very clear, very potent.

good clean shine is no different than everclear, I venture in the old country a lot of this is made with homemade hooch

[jayb151]

I wonder how it would be with shine.  I was just gifted a bottle; very clear, very potent.

 

I don't see why not. You can even make nalewka with straight vodka, so if you've got a strong, clear liquor I'd say go for it! I'm still of the mind that the ABV of the liquor you use should be around vodka strength though. The idea is that the finished product should be somewhere in the 30abv range. Strong enough to do the trick when you have a couple after dinner, but not crazy enough to knock you on your ass.

 

And I even see some "moonshine" drinks around here. Basically it's a bottle full of cherries or peaches with their "moonshine" added to it. :https://olesmoky.com...nshine-cherries

This isn't the best product, but it's basically the same idea. I've even seen more "southern inspired" drinks like apple pie and moonshine lemonaid. 

 

I'd say if you have a good tasting, clear liqour, you can go ahead and try making Nalewka with it, just remember that "OFFICIAL" Nalewka is only made with Spirytus. Anything else can get you close though. So if you're using some shine, be happy experimenting!

[jayb151]

Hey guys. Just wanted to follow up on this thread. After this conversation, I made a batch to bring to Christmas with my family. Like I said, my Grandma passed this year, so I took responsibility for making the Nalewka. The cheapest fruit my wife found at the store (since we were out of growing season) was plums, so I got a bunch of red plums to add.

 

Here's the result! https://photos.app.g...FE3LYZifmFA34f6

 

It was really good, though I did add a tbsp of sugar between two bottles. And I got just shy of exactly two bottles, so not a very big loss.

 

Everyone at the family party was very impressed, and even the other side of the family (Polish too) asked if I could make a couple extra bottles for them! haha. A few members of my immediate family got a little weepy talking about how it differed from Grandma's recipe, but that's drunk Poles I guess.

 

Super easy, super tasty, and strong. Na zdrowia!

Edited by jayb151, 10 January 2020 - 07:42 AM.

[neddles]

Sounds great JayB.

 

I have been meaning to update this. I made this recipe with my huge black currant crop. Very nice stuff. It's a strong complex flavor bomb. http://redapple.rest...currant-nalewka

[Alan Thicker]

Noice... Twoje zdrowie!

[jayb151]

Sounds great JayB.

 

I have been meaning to update this. I made this recipe with my huge black currant crop. Very nice stuff. It's a strong complex flavor bomb. http://redapple.rest...currant-nalewka

MMMmmmmm. I do love me some black currant. I actually planted some in the garden this summer. Hoping for a bumper crop! haha

[Genesee Ted]

Dunno how I missed this thread before

[Alan Thicker]

Nice... Getting fruit is not a problem, but I’ll have to go with 151 EverClear(that’s the only rectified spirit I can get in California)

 

Turns out 120 is the best I can get here in California