Borovicka recipe
August 30, 2010 1:11 PM Subscribe
Anybody got a recipe for a traditional Slovak juniper liqueur, "borovicka"?
Best answer: The references I can find say that borovička is a dry spirit "like gin". You probably know this, but gin is actually a neutral spirit flavored with juniper berries. I suspect that most borovička is also flavored with juniper berries, not made from them.
My understanding is that real distillers typically make gin by distilling the alcoholic vapor through the aromatic herbs (i.e., juniper berries and other things like orange peel and cardamon). But this isn't how people would have done it in the old days - back then they just used the aromatics to disguise the nasty taste of cheap alcohol. They would have steeped the aromatics in the liquor, and then filtered them out.
So if you're trying to replicate a particular liqueur, I think you should try getting some vodka - not the best, but not the cheapest either - and dropping a whole lot of juniper berries in. My feeling is that half to one cup per bottle should be about right. Let it stand for a couple of weeks, then taste it to see if you're on the right track. If you're after a sweet liqueur then add some sugar after the first couple of weeks. The taste and fragrance will continue to change for quite a while, probably a few months.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:51 PM on August 30, 2010
My understanding is that real distillers typically make gin by distilling the alcoholic vapor through the aromatic herbs (i.e., juniper berries and other things like orange peel and cardamon). But this isn't how people would have done it in the old days - back then they just used the aromatics to disguise the nasty taste of cheap alcohol. They would have steeped the aromatics in the liquor, and then filtered them out.
So if you're trying to replicate a particular liqueur, I think you should try getting some vodka - not the best, but not the cheapest either - and dropping a whole lot of juniper berries in. My feeling is that half to one cup per bottle should be about right. Let it stand for a couple of weeks, then taste it to see if you're on the right track. If you're after a sweet liqueur then add some sugar after the first couple of weeks. The taste and fragrance will continue to change for quite a while, probably a few months.
posted by Joe in Australia at 4:51 PM on August 30, 2010
My extended family in Slovakia make this along with slivovice. When we visited them they gave us bottles to bring home, made from fruit they had grown themselves. The fact that airport security required my parents to get rid of it still bums me out to this day.
I will ask my father if he knows anything about the process.
posted by piratebowling at 5:02 PM on August 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
I will ask my father if he knows anything about the process.
posted by piratebowling at 5:02 PM on August 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
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posted by leigh1 at 1:40 PM on August 30, 2010