For those of you that have never heard of Boilo, here are a few words about it courtesy of a December 2019 Philadelphia Inquirer article:
Boilo - often boiled in a large pot, hence the name - is modeled on a honeyed Lithuanian and Polish liqueur (krupnikas and krupnik, respectively), a carryover from the early 20th century, when immigrants from both countries poured into Pennsylvania's hills during the anthracite boom.The homemade brew starts by combining ginger ale or water with copious amounts of honey, quartered oranges and lemons, and warm spices (caraway, cloves, cinnamon). It simmers for several minutes to make a spicy base that's strained before adding booze. It's served warm, often with raisins. It's sweet and, thanks to Four Queens, very strong.A little over a week ago, The Alemonger delivered a bottle of Homemade Boilo that was made by his Better Half (aka his Wife) during a recent visit to her parent's home, which just happens to be in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, which just happens to be in the heart of Pennsylvania Coal Country. Her request: put her first attempt at Homemade Boilo through its paces via the full A Tasting at The Murder Table treatment, i.e. taste it, give our honest opinion, and offer up any recipe tweaks if we find any flaws, or see room for improvement.
To be 100% honest, we've never had Boilo, so suggesting how to improve it proved to be a bit challenging since we have no idea what it's supposed to taste like. To find out what we thought of Mrs. Alemonger's first attempt at Boilo making, click the play button on the following video:
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