Like many other holidays, Tu B'Shevat has become established in our consciousness as a children's holiday. Most likely the last time you went planting was when you were in the fourth grade or at most in the youth movement. But if we put the planting aside, the meaning of this holiday is focused, believe it or not, on taxes On this day, according to Jewish law, a new tithe year begins. That is, for the purpose of giving donations and tithes to priests and mourners, fruits that were pickled before the 10th of Shebat are considered to be the fruits of the previous year, and those that were pickled after that are already included in the calculation of the new tax year.
So the Rosh Hashanah for Ilanot and the winter in the air made us feel like drinking something fruity and alcoholic.
It's true that the hype around cocktails is on the wane, but it's still a great opportunity to sip one with fruit flavors spiked with quality liqueur.
We have collected some examples from around the world of sweet liqueurs based on the fruits of the tree, and here you have colorful and particularly happy cocktails.
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Apple Bite
Luxardo's refreshing sour apple liqueur comes from Italy, and is produced on the basis of natural fruit extraction from two types of apples, sour and sweet, which creates a combination of sweetness and sourness with distinct aromas of fresh apples.
Recommended for drinking as a chilled, clean digestif, with tonic or on ice, and especially in selected cocktails.
And here is our recipe.
The materials:
30 ml vodka
30 ml Luxardo Sour Apple
15 ml lemon juice
20 ml of sugar
15 ml of dry white wine
Method of preparation:
put the ingredients in a shaker, shake well, filter and pour into a glass full of ice and garnish.
Recipe:
Tal Tsimbalista, "Chimba"
Apple Bite // Photo: Foreign Relations
Disaronno Kiss
The song that perhaps most connects us with Tu Bashvet is "The Almond Blossoms", by the Tel Aviv poet Israel Dushman, and therefore the first liqueur we chose is the well-known and popular Amaretto Disarono. And here's something that might surprise you - it's not an almond liqueur, as many mistakenly think, But the liqueur that is made from the apricot kernels. Yes, the "Bafnocho" of the Gogoim (or Ajoim, for the Jerusalemites among us), with whom we used to play during breaks in elementary school.
It was created in 1525 in the town of Sarno in Italy, and quickly became the second most famous liqueur in the world.
It is made from apricot kernel oil soaked in caramel, sugar and a pure and secret extract that is produced from 17 different types of plants and fruits, in a special process that makes the liqueur full-bodied, aromatic and extremely rich.
Daniel Kislesi, the training director of the importer of the drink, HaKarem, also concocted a special cocktail for us.
The materials:
10 ml premium Stoli
40 ml Amaretto Disarono
20 ml lemon juice
20 ml cranberry juice
Method of preparation:
Shake well and strain into a low-ball full of ice.
Close with Thomas Henry pink grapefruit, and decorate with an orange twist or a dried orange.
From France with Love
The Williams "Golden Eight" pear liqueur, from the French manufacturer Massenez, is aged for at least eight years (hence the "eight" in its name), and is amber in color (hence the "golden").
The shape of the bottle adds uniqueness and luxury to it.
Along with the aroma of fresh pears, marzipan and vanilla aromas are also noticeable, and its texture is sweet and rich.
A real treat.
Even though it's so delicious on its own, and it's quite clear to us that you won't even bother to make a cocktail out of it but rather drink it neat, we decided to attach a recipe to it as well (and on occasion, look for their pear distillate, which has 40% alcohol, with a whole pear in the bottle!).
The materials:
40 ml Golden Eight liqueur
20 ml cognac
40 ml of orange juice
Method of preparation:
put everything in a shaker filled with ice cubes, shake well and pour into a glass of short drink.
Recipe:
Pierre Boeri
My Funny Valentine
And here is an amazing product - Griottines, which is really easy to get addicted to.
It's not really a liqueur, but pitted cherries that are soaked in a special recipe of liqueur and kirsch (cherry water), which has been jealously guarded by the manufacturer for generations.
It comes in a fancy jar containing 400 g, with an alcohol level of about 15%.
These cherries are great on vanilla ice cream in tiramisu, in cake, in chocolate pralines, and of course - also on a spoon.
And here is also a cocktail.
The materials:
20 ml of vodka
20 ml Griotin liqueur
10 ml ginger syrup
20 ml natural apple juice
60 ml strawberry nectar
Method of preparation:
pour all the ingredients into a shaker with a little ice, shake, strain into an elongated champagne glass filled with ice and garnish with rose petals.
Recipe:
Courtesy of the manufacturer
My Funny Valentine
Blackberry Tequila
And finally, there is also an Israeli representative in our parade of cocktails for Tu Bashvet. The liqueur maker Asher Ben Tolila from Lavi Winery, located in the heart of Gush Etzion (an area steeped in history and an exciting tourist destination), is already known for its variety of rich and flavorful liqueurs. its milky and creamy chocolate and cream liqueurs - this is an excellent opportunity to also get to know the rich blueberry liqueur, which is made on the basis of 100% naturally fermented fresh fruit.
The materials:
40 ml of tequila
40 ml blueberry liqueur of Lavie Winery
10 ml lemon juice
Method of preparation:
pour the tequila into a glass, add juice from half a lemon with crushed ice and mix.
Pour the blueberry liqueur on top (without mixing!) to get a "waterfall of color", and serve immediately.
Cocktails for the 12th in the tribe, photo: Annie Selby, courtesy of the garden, foreign public relations
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