It's The Warming Winter Cocktail You Can Cook Up At Home This Month
All Photos Courtesy Of Stacey Doyle Photography
A couple of birthdays ago, a friend gifted me a homemade honey liqueur called Viryta. According to the card, this adult liquid is of Lithuanian origin. According to my taste buds, it's true origin is from unicorn tears and the meow of kittens!
Some common uses of viryta include using it as an aperitif or a palate cleanser. Or for lunch ;) This is a very potent and tasty beverage, typically made with grain alcohol, various spices, honey, and a blend of citrus fruits. And probably multiple rays of sunshine.
I fell in love at first sip and wanted to find out if I too could mix up a batch. I scoured the internet and found a somewhat simple recipe to work off. (You can find a link to the one I used here at the end of this post.)
Photos By Stacey Doyle Photography
I stopped in at the oh-so-awesome purveyors of all things saucy, Bottles, on the East Side of Providence, to grab the alcohol base.
Then I popped over to the East Side Market to snag all the non-alcoholic necessities for the recipe.
I already had some honey from Aquidneck Honey at home. (Love them and their BEE-licious honey!)
This aromatic liqueur tastes lovely when served warm. I also have it on good authority (wink, wink) that it tastes just as delicious splashed into a glass of Champs or ginger beer.
It is proven that honey has natural antibiotic qualities, as well as being superior for soothing a sore throat. And you know, it's for your health so that's good enough for me, so — Cheers To Good Health!
The link to one of the many Viryta recipes I found online is below. (I've heard that most families will NOT share their custom recipe with anyone other than family. That is some seriously loyal drink making!)
About Stacey Doyle
I love documenting people, places and food!
For more from Stacey, please follow her site StaceyDoyle.com and Instagram @StaceyDoylePhotography.
She also wrote a marvelous post last spring about backyard camping; click here to see.
Photo Credits: All images courtesy of Stacey Doyle Photography
*This post has been updated from one that has appeared on the site previously.