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The Fabled Pour
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Russia

I have one sourced drink connected to Russia. The label on each card says how: where it began, what the country is known for, what people drink there, or where the origin is disputed.

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Russia on the world map. Boundaries are generalized Natural Earth data.

Drinks of Russia

Signature drinks and regional ones, with the evidence behind each. A drink marked non-alcoholic has no alcohol in the traditional serve.

  • Illustration of Sbiten: hot dark purple and translucent with steam, in a small clear glass mug.

    Sbiten

    IconicRegional drinkNon-alcoholic

    A hot honey and spice drink, brewed from honey, water, herbs and spices and sold by street vendors, hot in the cold months. Wikipedia describes the modern version as dark purple and notes mint leaves or cinnamon sticks as garnish. It can be made alcoholic by replacing water with red wine.

    Chronicles first mention it in 1128, and the Domostroy household manual records a 16th century recipe. A tsar's letter of 1652 restricts alcoholic sbiten at a monastery, and an 1848 St. Petersburg newspaper reported tea replacing it. After 1991 it returned as a syrup sold through monastery shops.

    Made with: honey, water, herbs such as mint, St. John's wort and sage, spices such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger and cardamom.

    Confidence: mediumEvidence: en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab), themoscowtimes.com (opens in a new tab)

Map data: Natural Earth, public domain.