Krupnik
Encyclopedia
- Krupnik redirects here. For other uses, see Krupnik (disambiguation)Krupnik (disambiguation)-Other:*Krupnik, Alcoholic vodka drink*Krupnik, A Polish barley soup.*Krupnik, a village in Bulgaria...
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Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
, based on grain spirit and honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, popular in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. Mass produced versions consist of 40%-50% (80-100 proof) alcohol, but traditional versions will use 80% - 100% grain alcohol as the base. Honey, in particular clover honey, is the main ingredient to add sweetness, as well as up to 50 different herbs. There are many versions and some recipes are passed down through generations. It originated in the territories of present day Lithuania and is sometimes heated before being served.
It is a distant relative of the medovukha
Medovukha
Medovukha is an Old Balto-Slavic honey-based alcoholic beverage very similar to mead. These two words are related and go back to the Proto-Indo-European meddhe...
(Russian) or miód pitny (Polish), a honey-made spirit popular in all Slavic countries.
Legend has it that the recipe was created by the Benedictine
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
monks at a monastery in Niaśviž which was founded by Mikołaj Krzysztof "Sierotka" Radziwiłł. Known in Poland and Lithuania at least since 16th century, it soon became popular among the szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. There are numerous recipes preserved to our times in countless szlachta diaries. Krupnik was also used as a common medicinal disinfectant to Polish soldiers in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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At times, spicy seasonings and herbs are added to flavour. The brand of the honey and the ratio of seasonings are key points for final taste of krupnik.
It may be served hot, at room temperature or chilled. A specific sort of krupnik which contains more herbs and less honey is brewed by Karaims.