I’ve been studying wine and spirits for over two decades. One of the things I’m most interested in when we travel is what I call drinks culture – what can you learn about a country through their cultural drinking habits and traditions.

I’ve been known to order several drinks off a menu – just so I could taste them. And I could spend hours in the local grocery/wine/liquor store just studying the shelves. Ken is not as enthusiastic about this activity, so I usually send him off to climb a mountain or something.

When we’re traveling, I post my little travelogues on the go and off the cuff. Instagram only allows 2,200 characters per post, so I have to be stingy with words. Maybe that’s a good thing. 😉 One of the reasons I started this blog is so I could take a pause after our trips, and look at something(s) more in depth. Like the local drinks situation.

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Here is my local drinks culture report (aka what to drink) from Riga, Latvia:

Riga Black Balsam (Rīgas Melnais Balzams)

Riga Black Balsam is Latvia’s iconic national drink. It was created in 1752 (when Latvia was part of the Russian Empire) by a pharmacist named Abraham Kunze. It’s made from a secret recipe of 24 different herbs, spices, roots, and berries. Basically, the entire forest floor.

Originally, Riga Black Balsam was marketed and used as a medicinal tonic for everything from stomach aches to anxiety. Here’s a newspaper advertisement from 1762 that describes the many, many things balsam can do:

“It is useful in numerous cases, both for fever, stomach cramps, toothache, headache, burns, frostbite and sprains; for tumors, poisonous bites, fractures of arms and legs, especially for closed, stab and chop wounds. The most dangerous wounds can be cured in five days, six at most.”

Reminds me of the Greek Windex solution. Is there anything it can’t do?

Russian Empress, Catherine the Great, was allegedly a big fan of Riga Black Balsam. Once upon a time, while traveling, Catherine stopped in Riga, and became very ill. Nothing her personal doctor tried helped. So she was offered some of Kunze’s miracle potion, and voila – Catherine was cured. This gave Riga Black Balsam a lot of cachet throughout Europe. And Kunze could add “saved the Empress of Russia” to his resume.

We were served a “welcome shot” of Riga Black Balsam at dinner. It was layered over peach juice. And it was terrible. Conjure a memory of the worst tasting cough syrup of your childhood, and then make it so bitter it could strip the enamel off your teeth. And there’s Riga Black Balsam.

So yeah, not my thing. I was told I needed to try the black currant version, which I did. Admittedly, it was better, but not anywhere close to good enough to make my “traveling team” – liquor that comes home with me in my suitcase.

Kvass

Before there were fancy lattes at trendy cafés in Riga, there was kvass – a slightly fermented, low-alcohol drink made from Latvia’s national treasure – rye bread. Originally a peasant drink, kvass was a clever way to use up stale bread. The recipe is pretty simple: soak the bread in water, strain the liquid, add some sugar and yeast to it, and voila: bread soda.

Under Soviet occupation, kvass was declared an official beverage of the proletariat—a people’s drink. It was cheap, nutritious (sort of), and didn’t distract the worker like vodka did. Kvass was more than a drink – it was an ideology in a bottle. Who needs that rotten, western Coca-Cola when you have bread soda??

We tried kvass at the Riga Central Market, where it is sold home-brewed, and in unlabeled bottles. Normally, I’m not a fan of drinking anything from unlabeled bottles – that’s like playing Russian roulette with your digestive system. But every once in a while, I throw caution to the wind. I was surprised how much I enjoyed kvass. It’s malty and slightly sweet with a subtle fizz. I would absolutely drink it again.

Latvian Craft Beer

Beer in Latvia has a heavy German influence – lots of lager style brews. Under Soviet occupation, brewing was more about quantity than quality. But since regaining independence, Latvia has experienced a craft beer renaissance – lots of creative experimentation happening. Sea buckthorn IPAs, smoked porters, and juniper stouts were just a few of the beers I saw – and did not order/buy. Because I’m a firm believer that beer should be beer flavored.

Skābēti Kāposti (Sauerkraut) Juice

When we were on our tour of the Riga Central Market, I kept seeing these large, unlabeled plastic bottles filled with a suspicious beige liquid. I knew it wasn’t kvass – kvass is dark brown. Our guide told us this is sauerkraut juice – a Latvian cure-all. You have an upset stomach? Have some sauerkraut juice. Heavy meal? Sauerkraut juice. Too many shots of Black Balsam? You know what to do. Between the Riga Black Balsam and the sauerkraut juice, Latvians must have armor plated stomachs.

Having already played a round of what’s-really-in-that-bottle with the kvass, I took a pass on the sauerkraut juice. I did have some sauerkraut, though, which was delicious.

Priekā!