Cocktail | |
---|---|
Type | Mixed drink |
Served | Straight up: chilled, without ice |
Standard garnish | Never |
Standard drinkware | Mug |
Commonly used ingredients | Varies by recipe |
Notes | Attend Christmas Eve Mass prior to drinking. Christmas day mass is generally out of the question. |
Boilo is a traditional Christmas or Yuletide drink in the Coal Region of northeastern and east central Pennsylvania.
Boilo is a variation of a traditional Lithuanian liqueur called krupnik or krupnikas.[1]
Characteristically boilo has a standard recipe including citrus fruits (such as oranges and lemons), herbs and spices (such as nutmeg, cloves, caraway seed, and anise seed), and other ingredients such as honey and ginger ale. The traditional base ingredient in boilo is moonshine. Many modern recipes have replaced home-brewed moonshine with blended whiskey, rye or grain alcohol,[2] and may be made on a stove top or in a slow cooker.[3] Some recipes specify Four Queens, a blended whiskey originally bottled in Philadelphia by Kasser Liquors and later sold to Laird & Company in New Jersey. [4] Variations on the traditional recipe include honeyberry boilo, "tomata" boilo, blueberry boilo, and apple pie boilo. Some traditions recommend that holiday music and decorating accompany the cooking process, to add to the festive effect of the beverage.[5]