Skip to main content

Warm the Cockles of Your Heart with Krupnik Honey Vodka


Krupnik (pronounced "kroop-neek"), or honey vodka, is a Polish drink that can be served warm or cold and is traditionally imbibed on Easter, Christmas, and other special occasions. It was also used by Polish soldiers in World War II as a medicinal disinfectant; that's how you know it's good. 

Krupnik originated in 1600s in what is now Belarus but what at the time was known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The original recipe for the drink is believed to have been created by Benedictine monks at a monastery in Niasviz. And while there is no official documentation of this, I think it’s safe to say that Wojtek, the WWII Soldier Bear who served alongside humans in the Polish 22nd  Artillery Supply Company in the Battle of Monte Cassino, probably found his way into some krupnik at one time or another. Wojtek (pronounced "voy-teck"), whose name means "happy warrior," was known to smoke and eat cigarettes, drink coffee and beer, salute, march, and carry crates of ammunition, after all, so drinking a little krupnik from time to time doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch. You can read more about this amazing bear here.

I had been hoping that this Easter would be a time to celebrate the worst of the pandemic being over, but now we find ourselves once again living in the shadow of war. At least I can take heart in hearing stories like the one that appeared in the Axios email newsletter this week about three Chicago chefs—Paul Kahan of Publican, Tony Priolo of Piccolo Sogno, and Giuseppe Tentori of BOKA—who recently travelled to Poland to cook for Ukrainian war refugees in a World Central Kitchen facility in Przemysl. You can read more about World Central Kitchen and support their cause here.

Back on the home front, we can wish our loved ones a Happy Easter or Happy Spring and share some krupnik with them. Some recipes suggest serving krupnik warm with a pat of butter and even a piece of chocolate. I’ve tried both ways, and they are both delicious. The krupnik recipe on the Great British Chefs website suggests serving krupnik “on chilly nights to warm the cockles.” This is my new favorite phrase. I don’t know about you, but my cockles can use all the warming they can get right about now.

The krupnik recipe I made this year was adapted from the 1976 edition of the Culinary Arts Institute Polish Cookbook: Traditional Recipes Tested for Today’s Kitchens. Thank you to Jane Schafer-Kramer for submitting this recipe. I bid you all a Happy Easter and Happy Spring…and may your cockles be forever warmed.

Krupnik (Honey Vodka)

Ingredients:

1 c. honey

2/3 c. water

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. nutmeg

8 cinnamon sticks

2 whole cloves

6 strips of lemon peel that are about 1-inch long each

2½ c. vodka

Instructions:

Combine the honey, water, vanilla, spices, and lemon peel in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the vodka. Remove from heat. Serve warm or chilled. 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Malort: The Drink Chicagoans Love to Hate

  Jeppson's Malört was once a niche liqueur consumed mainly within Chicago's Swedish community. Now it's a Chicago favorite that can be found throughout the city and beyond. What caused this change? Turns out all it took was for someone to promote the comedic value of this extremely bitter-tasting drink. Malört is a Swedish liqueur similar to absinthe that is made with wormwood, a bitter herb. It has traditionally been used to treat intestinal parasites and other maladies such as indigestion, hangovers, and nausea. The word malört is Swedish for wormwood .  In the 1920s, Swedish immigrant Carl Jeppson started making his own version of Malört. (He came from a region in Sweden where wormwood grows wild.) Jeppson sold his liqueur door to door in Chicago's Swedish community on the North Side. He got around Prohibition laws by marketing his product as a tonic to cure stomach worms and parasites. Law enforcement concluded that because of its awful taste nobody would drink Mal...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Chicago-Style Bloody Mary for the City's Most Famous Ghost

There's a special tradition at Chet's Melody Lounge, a neighborhood bar located on Archer Avenue across the street from Resurrection Cemetery in southwest suburban Justice. Every Sunday, the bartender makes a bloody mary and leaves it in front of an open stool at the end of the bar. The seat and drink are reserved for none other than Resurrection Mary, Chicago's most famous ghost. I'll give you a recipe for a special Chicago-style bloody mary that you can use to make your own offering to this legendary ghost, but first here's a little more about Resurrection Mary. Chicagoans from all walks of life know about this vanishing hitchhiker ghost who haunts Archer Avenue and surrounding areas. Various songs have been written about her,* and her story was even featured on an episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" in 1994.  The most common Resurrection Mary story goes something like this: A driver picks up a young woman in a white dress, often after a dance. When the car ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Cheeseburger Is Really a "Cheezborger" When It's Served with Chicago-Style Attitude at the Billy Goat Tavern

What makes a cheeseburger a "cheezborger"? When it's served at an establishment known for a stray farm animal, a sports curse, a Saturday Night Live skit, and Chicago-style attitude. I'm talking, of course, about the Billy Goat Tavern and Grill, one of the city's most famous burger joints. And the story behind the Billy Goat is stranger than fiction. The Billy Goat got its start in 1934 when Greek immigrant William Sianis purchased a tavern across the street from the Chicago Stadium (now the United Center). One day, a goat fell off a passing truck outside and wandered into the tavern. Sianis adopted the goat, who he named Murphy, grew a goatee himself, and soon became known by the nickname "Billy Goat." He also named his tavern after his new pet, who became the establishment's mascot. Among other pastimes, Murphy developed a fondness for drinking beer. Murphy would soon become infamous when he played a key role in a feud between Sianis and the Chicag...
Post a Comment
Read more