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.
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.
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.:)
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.
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.
I haven't made this yet, but just wanted to know if you can make it without boiling the honey, just adding it directly to the mixture as it is my understanding that heating honey ruins any of the medicinal qualities that honey has. Has anyone tried making it without boiling the honey or think it would work out okay to just add it without heating? PS, I'm just rating this as how desirable it sounds so I can post my question. Thanks for any input.
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.
It's simply delicious. Try it!
I screwed up a bit and used too much honey relative to the alcohol and spiced water too sweet but still pretty good.
