READY IN 14+ days

Lithuanian Krupnikas

Read Reviews (15)

"Lithuanian spiced honey liqueur. Serve warm as a traditional Eastern European cold remedy - a quick heat-up in the microwave works great." — JOENAUJOKAS

Directions

Crack the cardamom seeds and nutmeg with a heavy skillet on a cutting board. Toss them into a saucepan with the caraway seed, cloves, allspice berries, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, saffron, ginger, turmeric, orange zest and lemon zest. Pour in the water, and bring to a boil. Cover, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by 1/2. Strain out spices, and set the liquid aside.
Pour honey into a large pot, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Skim off any foam from the top. Stir in the strained liquid from the spices and vanilla extract. Remove from heat and place far from the stove to avoid any flare-ups from the grain alcohol. Slowly stir in the grain alcohol. Place the pot back onto the burner over low heat and cover. Heat through, being careful not to boil or even simmer. Remove from heat and let stand overnight with the lid on.
The following day, pour the liquid into sterile bottles, seal, and allow to settle for 2 weeks. The longer you let it sit, the clearer it will become and the better it tastes. Serve warm.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 15 mins
COOK 45 mins
READY IN 14 days 1 hr

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Dec 06, 2008

I just got the krupnikas in bottles and it really smells delicious. I couldn't find whole yellow ginger (turmeric) so I used 1.5 tsp of powdered. Grain alcohol is illegal where I live so I used 1.5 quarts of vodka. This yielded almost 2 quarts of krupnikas with the water and honey. Even after settling overnight it has a luscious taste, but it is quite cloudy. I plan to let it sit 3 weeks and have a little on Christmas and then keep the rest for at least a year to mellow.

—Alfia

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Mar 10, 2010

Having made my own Krupnikas for the last 30 years, there are a few things I'd like to say. First and foremost NEVER heat this drink in a microwave! You're using grain alcohol, for cryin' out loud! There are many Krupnikas recipes out there. This seems like a good one...similar to mine with the exception of a few spices that I leave out and a few others I put in. (For example, I use vanilla bean vs vanilla extract and I put it in the pot with the other spices.) Also, I never drink it warm...cool is best...but my Krupnikas is a full 80 proof. It's the real deal, made for shots. The basics are there, though...so if you're making this for the first time, don't sweat it if you're missing an ingredient or 2. Most can be found on line at good spice websites like Penzeys. To a previous comment: Everclear IS grain alcohol...whatever brand you have works fine.

—Snukis

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16 Ratings

Mar 09, 2009

couldn't get our hands on fresh turmeric root, so used 1,5 tsp dried instead as per a previous review. this made it a little bit difficult to strain, but patience paid off, and we've finally sampled it after having it stand for about 2 months. fantastic. we've had some at room temperature and we're totally blown away. interested to know what it's like when heated, but not expecting a bad result. :)

—rua

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Dec 21, 2007

Takes awhile to make, but well worth the wait! After the 2 week wait you will not be disappointed! I now make it every winter.

—MBENL01

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Dec 16, 2010

I screwed up a bit and used too much honey relative to the alcohol and spiced water, too sweet but still pretty good.

—mikem3289

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Jan 25, 2010

I have made this the last two Christmases as gifts. Problem is, we have trouble making enough to have any left by the time the holidays roll around. I actually have started to save a few "vintage" bottles and my '08 bottles are great. Truly gets better with age. Everyone who I've ever served it to liked it, two things everyone disagrees about: 1) if it's better to drink hot or cold (definitely hot for medicinal purposes!) and 2) whether to shake up the sediment or to leave it the beautiful golden color. Everyone seems divided about both! There are a couple of ingredients I have never been able to find - but others have suggested substitutions that seem to work well.

—jkidd

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Jun 01, 2010

It's simply delicious. Try it!

—crescendo

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Jan 26, 2009

Every year my wife and I make holiday gift to give to family and friends. This year we chose to make Krupnikas. Boy, oh boy! Absolutely wonderful! Everyone's asked me for the recipe. My sister-in-law finished her bottle off in less then a week! Have a second batch aging as we speak.

—Mindar

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