Polish Honey Spiced Vodka Krupnik Recipes

KRUPNIK, A POLISH HONEY LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Pour honey into a saucepan
• Add cloves, cinnamon, lemon zest, vanilla, and allspice
• Warm (enough to thin, but keeping under a boil) and steep for 10 minutes
• Add vodka
• Remove from heat and let steep for a couple of hours
• Pour through strainer
• Pour into bottles
• Seal bottles
• Serve warm, at room temp, or chilled

SPICED HONEY VODKA

Steps:

• Bring 1 cup honey and water to a boil in a saucepan while stirring. Immediately reduce heat to low once boiling. Scrape the vanilla bean contents into the mixture and add the pod. Stir in ginger. Add orange zest, lemon zest, mint, nutmeg, cloves, peppercorns, star anise, and cardamom. Cook over low heat, stirring, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Pour mixture into a wide-mouth, sealable bottle. Add 1 liter vodka and seal. Allow ingredients to steep together for 3 weeks, agitating occasionally.
• Pour vodka through a strainer or cheesecloth and taste for sweetness. Add more honey or vodka to acquire the right level of sweetness (it should taste quite sweet, but everyone has their own personal preference.) Serve neat at room temperature.

POLISH KRUPNIK - OLD FASHIONED HONEY AND SPICE LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Place vanilla bean, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns, and nutmeg into cheesecloth and tie with string (like a big tea bag).
• In a saucepan, combine 3 cups of water with the spice bag and whole, unpeeled clementines and bring to a boil. Reduce mixture to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes. Then set aside.
• In a second saucepan, combine 3 cups of water with the honey and brown sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve honey and brown sugar. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook over the stove. As the mixture cooks, foam will form on the surface, and must be removed. The best way to do this is to use a large metal spoon to gather the foam to one side of the pot, allow it to accumulate and thicken, then skim off with the spoon. As the mixture cooks, it will thicken and continue to produce foam. Continue to remove foam as above, for about 5-10 minutes, until it stops foaming.
• In a large stockpot, combine grain alcohol and both mixtures. Place tight-fitting lid on stockpot, and allow to sit undisturbed overnight.
• The next day, remove the clementines and spice bag, and pour the mixture evenly into two 64 oz containers with lids (64 oz glass growlers work well, but so do 64 oz rubbermaid pitchers).
• The mixture should nearly fill each container. Add 1/2 oz of orange extract to each container. Then add just enough bottled water to each container to get a total of 64 oz of liquid in each container. Cover tightly.
• Allow mixture to sit in a cool, dark place for 6 weeks. During this time, the flavors blend and the krupnik becomes very smooth.
• After 6 weeks have passed, your krupnik is complete and ready to move to bottles or mason jars for storage and use. You will notice that there is sediment in the bottom of the containers. Use care when moving the containers, so as not to disturb the sediment.
• Use the siphoning technique discussed on http://homebrewmanual.com/how-to-siphon-beer-into-bottles/ to get a clear product into your final storage containers. It is worth the effort!

POLISH FIRE VODKA (KRUPNIK) (SPICED HONEY VODKA)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except for vodka and bring to a boil.
• Cover and reduce heat to a simmer; simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the vodka, and when heated through, sreve immediately in Irish coffee cups serve chilled later in juice glasses (can also be reheated for serving later).