At the dawn of human civilization, when there were no injections or even pills, people were treated exclusively with herbs. Our ancestors noticed the benefits of some plants and actively used them.
Confidence in herbal medicine has not disappeared today. Interestingly, some medicines also contain herbal extracts, infusions, decoctions. In this article we will talk about alcohol balms on herbs. Photos of the most famous brands, recipes for home bitters and recommendations for their use will be given below.
Preparation of tincture begins with the collection of herbs. Here you also need to know some tricks. After all, even the phases of the moon can affect the beneficial properties of herbs. What reviews exist about purchased balms? Should they be treated exclusively by them? Read about all this below.
What are the balms
Traditional medicine uses medicinal plants in many ways. You can dry the herbs, grind them into powder and take as a tablet. The vegetable harvest is poured with boiling water and drunk like tea.
You can make a decoction on herbs. But the heroes of our article are infusions on alcohol - balms. This word is of Greek origin. Translated "balm" as a "drug." Depending on the plant harvest, this alcoholic drink treats colds, expels insomnia, normalizes metabolic processes in the body, and soothes nerves.
As a compress, the balm eliminates aches in the bones, gently warms the cold muscles. With angina, gargle with his solution. Alcoholic balms on herbs, for all their diversity, are divided into two large groups: bitters and sweet alcohol tinctures. In the latter add syrups, licorice or honey.
List of the most famous bitters
Consider the first group of alcoholic balms on herbs. The word "bitter" in translation from English means "bitter". These spirits may have a medical purpose, as they aid digestion. But also they are used as a digestif. In Italy, such bitter drinking balsams are called Amaro. If in medicinal drinks the taste is of secondary importance, then in bar bitters it is important that each component of the plant collection is in harmony with the others. The most famous balms are:
- "Amaro Luciano" (Italy).
- Aperol (Italy).
- "Araucano" (Chile).
- Benedectin (France).
- Becherovka (Czech Republic).
- "Biirenburg" (Holland).
- Blyutvurts (Bavaria, Germany).
- Campari (Italy).
- "Bitter Leaf" (Serbia).
- "Jägermeister" (Germany).
- Jeppson's (USA).
- "Picon" (France).
- Unicum (Hungary).
- Chartreuse (France).
- "Gastric vodka" (Poland).
By the way, such drinks are called balms only in Eastern Europe, more precisely, in the countries of the former USSR. Most famous in the post-Soviet space is Riga Black Balsam (Latvia).
Russian balms
The benefit of medicinal plants was highly appreciated by the ancient Slavs. Herbalist was the most revered person in the village. And now, certain plant harvests are popular.
Many people consider the infusion of herbs for alcohol almost a panacea for all diseases. But there are those who simply perceive them as another type of alcohol. The most popular bitters in Russia are:
- Alcoholic balm on herbs "Altai bouquet."
- "Bugulma" (Tatarstan).
- “The Legend of Italmas” (Udmurtia).
- "Idnakar" (Udmurtia).
The vegetable harvest in these drinks is different. The number of herbs varies from 18 to 25 components. The strength of balms is usually forty degrees, but there are drinks and 45%.
Like most bitters, Russian drinks contain gentian - a useful plant that gives them a pronounced taste of medicine. But, for example, in the Altai Bouquet there is a lot of honey. Therefore, bitterness there is neutralized by sweetness.
The benefits of alcoholic balm on herbs
First of all, plant collection is valuable for the body. Extraction allows you to extract useful substances from herbs and transfer them to alcohol (vodka, cognac or other distillate).
There are balms that are recognized as universal. They are drunk with overwork, general weakness, low pressure, to improve appetite (as an aperitif), for digesting food (as a digestif), for warming, etc.
Almost all balms have tannins, glucosides, fats, carbohydrates and proteins. The composition of such drinks includes organic acids (malic, ascorbic, citric, polymythic, formic, oleic, tartaric, acetic, linoleic and stearic), as well as minerals (copper, cobalt, calcium, manganese, sodium, zinc, potassium, chromium, magnesium and iron).
To fully benefit from the drink, it is recommended to read the instructions for it. There are balms that are best added to tea or coffee. They enhance sweating, remove sputum from the bronchi.
Bitter harm
People suffering from kidney or liver failure, it is better to abandon the use of balm on herbs. The benefits and harms of an alcoholic drink are dose dependent.
After all, its strength is from 30 to 46 degrees. Therefore, you should use the balm, especially for medicinal purposes, strictly according to the instructions for use. The daily dose should not exceed 20-30 milliliters per day.
Exceeding the norm is fraught with poisoning. Since there is alcohol in the remedy, it should not be used by pregnant women and children. The properties of the herbs that make up the drink should also be taken into account.
For example, Riga balsam or a drink from Bitner contains valerian and melissa, which pleasantly relax and drive away insomnia. But in order to cheer up, cope with hypotension, they are not suitable. There is also individual intolerance to the components of the plant collection.
Cooking technology
The balm recipe was completely refined to the smallest detail only in the 18th century. The technology of its preparation is quite complicated. Each ingredient individually insists on alcohol for one to three months.
Based on the fact that in some balms plant collection consists of 25-45 components, we can judge how troublesome this process is. Then these numerous tinctures are distilled (some even double).
In the third stage, the components, also separately, are exposed. During this period, which lasts about a month, the medicinal properties of plants pass into the drink. The following is blending of the mixtures.
It is important that the components do not oppress each other, but complement nicely. Then the drink is filtered in three stages to remove the precipitate. Finally, they are bottled in dark glass (or ceramics) because sunlight destroys plant enzymes.
Before going on sale, the balms are kept in a sealed container for some time. It seems that making a drink at home is unrealistic. But, having simplified the technology a little, you can make an alcoholic balm on herbs with your own hands. How? Read on.
Balm "Volzhsky"
How to simplify the technology so that it does not damage either the beneficial properties of the drink or its taste? The answer is obvious: we will not produce tinctures on individual components, and then engage in blending, that is, mixing liquids.
According to winemakers in the reviews, alcoholic balms on herbs do not lose anything if you combine all the dry ingredients together and pour vodka. For a drink called Volzhsky we take 20 grams of cones of hops, St. John's wort, sage, oak bark, 30 grams of lemon balm, mint and lime.
The components need to be crushed and mixed. Then fill the vegetable collection with half a liter of vodka. Close the container tightly and leave for two weeks to insist.
After this, you need to decant and carefully filter the drink. To improve the bitter taste of the balm, it is recommended to add 100 milliliters of cognac to it. Put on another 14 days. At the end add 30 grams of honey. Stir and set aside for two days.
Elixir "The Hangover"
There are other recipes for alcoholic herbal balms. They have different purposes. This is good to take in the morning when the body tells you that the day before you drank too much alcohol.
To prepare the "Hangover" balm you need so. The roots of burdock (50 grams) are washed, dried (can be in the oven), then chopped on a grater. Add the same amount of sorrel and 30 g of mint, motherwort and horsetail.
Fill with half a liter of quality vodka and stand in a cool and dark place for twenty days. Carefully filter the drink through several layers of gauze. Add warmed honey (about 40-50 grams).
Balm "Russian"
This drink can be made both on vodka and on purified moonshine. The plant harvest in this alcoholic herbal balm is:
- oak bark;
- hop cones;
- dandelion root.
All ingredients are required to be taken in equal proportions - for half a liter of vodka, 30 grams. After two weeks spent in a dark and cool room, the drink is removed from the sediment.
And then they connect with one hundred milliliters of sea buckthorn and 50 ml of viburnum juice. These drinks should be freshly squeezed, so you need to prepare the Russky balm only in the season - in the fall.
To improve the taste and color of the liquid, let us pour one hundred milliliters of cognac into the mixture. Instead of honey, the recipe suggests using burnt caramel. To make it, you need to pour 50 grams of sugar into a dry frying pan.
Old recipe
If you want your homemade alcoholic herbal balms to come out not only healthy, but also tasty, experiment with solvents. They can be not only vodka or moonshine, but also other distillates.
Cognac significantly improves the color of the drink. Its delicate bouquet eliminates the smell of pharmacy medicine, and gives the balm a wine aroma. The "old recipe" requires us to take in equal amounts:
- nettles;
- coltsfoot;
- valerian root;
- walnut kernels;
- Linden blossom;
- marshmallow root;
- motherboard (it is oregano or oregano);
- chamomile;
- Melissa
- sagebrush;
- rose hips and primrose.
Grind all these components, mix and fill with apple juice, cognac and honey. The proportions are simple: per liter of liquid - one hundred grams of plant harvest.
After half a month we filter the balm and add alcohol to set the fortress at 45 degrees. We stand another ten days. This drink should be consumed in cases and in doses, like Bitner Balsam.