In Baltimore, you may get this sweet, highly strong liquor at Lithuanian festivals and social clubs. They typically say it with a ‘VIT-a-tis’ sound. Around the holidays, viryta is a popular item that is typically produced from scratch by the descendants of Lithuanian immigrants using recipes that have been passed down through the years. It took me years to eventually find someone who could show me how to make it because most Baltimore residents who make it keep their family recipes very close to their chests. If she knew I had put it online, she’d probably give me a hard time!
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 8 days |
| Total Time: | 8 days 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 36 |
| Yield: | 2 750ml bottles |
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 1 orange
- 1 pound honey
- 3 ½ cups bottled water
- 3 cups white sugar
- 3 tablespoons caraway seeds
- 25 whole cloves
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 2 pints 190 proof grain alcohol
Instructions
- Peel orange and lemon in a circular motion in a large strip. Place peels in a warm, dry area to dry for 24 hours.
- Stir honey, 1 cup water, sugar, caraway seeds, cloves, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and ground nutmeg together in a large pot; bring to a rolling boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes. Add dried orange and lemon peels to honey mixture; continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat; discard fruit peels. Stir grain alcohol and remaining 2 1/2 cups water into honey mixture. Transfer mixture to a glass container and tightly cover with a lid. Place in a cool location out of direct sunlight and let set, gently swirling container every few days, for 1 week.
- Strain mixture through double-layered cheesecloth to remove sediment. Pour liqueur into bottles or decanters and seal.
- Some people confuse Viryta with Krupnik, but they are two different types of honey-flavored spirits. Krupnik is a Polish liqueur with a vodka base; Viryta is of Lithuanian origin and has a grain alcohol base and much higher alcoholic content per ounce.
- Liquid must set in a tightly-covered glass container. This is very important, as leaving the mixture uncovered during its ‘setting’ period will allow much of the alcohol to evaporate.
Reviews
This is close to the cold version my family makes but like another reviewer, there are some differences that would effect the final product. As for @Vern, our family also made a hot version every Christmas Eve. That was whiskey, lemon, honey and caraway seed based. Polar opposites yet 100% Lithuanian traditions in our homes. One tip for the cold version…skip the grain and use a high alcohol rum like Appletons 151 in 1:1 substitution. The rum gives it a nice depth of flavor that the grain cannot. It still gives quite a kick…
Not close at all. My grandmother wes from Lithuania, and my mother handed down the recipi to me 40 years ago. I remember drinking warm shots of this on Christmas eve. I wish so much I could give you the correct recipi. But it.
This is very close to the recipe my family has handed down for generations with the exception of a few ingredients…can’t say what they are unless you marry one of my kids. 😉 Enjoy!!