Polish nalewka is perhaps more of a family heirloom; a story meant to share than just a liqueur or drink. He is a master, and makes about ten every year, trying out different recipes and ingredients. It’s one of those nights when we book the grandparents for babysitting duties and head to my cousin’s house for a night of serious tasting, rating and discussing.

Hers was just one year old, red and incredibly fruity; his was 10 years old, brown and clear with a dark whiskey-like appearance. It had an incredibly complicated taste. If you are tasting someone’s nalewka, that means they are putting a lot of effort into welcoming you as a guest, impressing you, cementing a friendship or just sharing something with you.

Their honey wine is absolutely, positively amazing. What a find! If I never imbibe another wine I'm still satisfied. When we sampled them side-by-side, we realized that— despite being made with the same fruit— they tasted completely different. Natalie MacLean offers North America's most popular online wine and food pairing classes. She was named the World's Best Drinks Writer at the World Food Media Awards in Australia. Then, a year later when apricots were in season again, he would take fresh ripe apricots and macerate them in the alcohol that absorbed the almond pit heart flavor. Think of it as a secret; or an intimate part of their lives that can’t be translated and put into any words at all.

Interestingly, modern herbalists still macerate herbs in alcohol to extract healing properties. Fruit isn’t the only ingredient for making Polish Nalewka. Cardamom is another! Photo via Ludmila_ph/Pixabay. These are fairly common recently, and they usually take place on weekends in town squares or cultural museums. Amber Nalewk.This nalewka— which hasantiseptic properties and works as a way to relieve asthma —is made out amber that’s been broken up into tiny fragments. This whole experience completely floored me and convinced me that nalewka-making is truly a national sport in Poland. Healing Properties Of Polish Nalewka My blood started to flow faster and I smiled despite myself. This must have been what they meant by “ambrosia”.An aunt gave me a bottle of chokeberry nalewka, and I brought it home to enjoy with my in-laws. My father in-law jumped at this opportunity, because he also had a bottle of chokeberry nalewka in his cellar. It could also be confused with its cognate, nalivka or nalyvka ( Russian, Ukrainian: наливка), popular in Ukraine since the 17th century and in Russia since the second half of the 16th century. [6] [7] [8] While the Polish nalewka is an infusion, the Ukrainian/Russian nalivkas are made by filling a jar with fruit, sugar and water, sealing it, and letting the contents ferment. Thus, the Ukrainian/Russian nalivkas are much weaker (usually containing less than 20% alcohol). [9] [10] The proper name for a Russian analogue of a Polish nalewka would be nastoika, infusion. ( Russian: настойка, Ukrainian: настоянка, nastoyanka, literally, tincture). [11] History [ edit ] A variety of nalewka Classic Recipes of Poland: Traditional Food and Cooking in 25 Authentic Regional Dishes [Great Reads]