🥤 DRINK
Karstais Balzams (Hot Black Balsam with Blackcurrant)
Blackcurrant juice warmed with cloves and mandarin, spiked with dark, bittersweet Riga Black Balsam and served steaming in mugs.
Latvian · easy · serves 5
prep 5 min · cook 10 min
~212 cal · 1g protein · 42g carbs · 0g fat · 1g fiber · 40g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Riga Black Balsam, Rīgas Melnais Balzams, is Latvia's famous herbal liqueur: nearly black, bittersweet and 45 percent alcohol. It was created in 1752 by the Riga apothecary Abraham Kunze, and legend says it Catherine the Great when she fell ill on a visit to the city. The recipe was lost in 1939, when its keepers left for Germany, and was carefully reconstructed in 1950. Today it is made from 24 ingredients, among them bilberries, raspberries, birch buds, ginger, valerian and linden blossom, infused in spirit, aged in oak barrels and blended with honey and caramel.
Latvians rarely drink it neat in winter. The classic way is karstais balzams, hot balsam: a splash poured into hot blackcurrant juice, often with cloves, mandarin or orange and a stick of cinnamon. The sharp, fruity juice softens the bitterness of the herbs, and the result is a dark, warming drink for cold evenings and Christmas markets.
The one rule every Latvian recipe repeats is never to let it boil, or the aroma of the balsam is lost.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 5
- 1 l blackcurrant juice, ready to drink, not a concentrated cordial
- 100 ml Riga Black Balsam, classic or blackcurrant, a herbal liqueur made with honey
- 5 whole cloves
- 2 mandarins, peeled and separated into segments
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
Instructions
- 1Peel the mandarins and separate them into segments, keeping a few aside to garnish the mugs.
- 2Put the blackcurrant juice, cloves and the rest of the mandarin segments in a saucepan and warm over a medium-low heat until steaming hot.
- 3Pour in the balsam and stir, with the cinnamon stick if using. Keep it over a low heat just long enough to heat through.✎ Chef’s noteNever let it boil. The alcohol and the aroma of the herbs escape, and the drink turns flat and bitter.
- 4Ladle into mugs, putting a mandarin segment and a clove in each, and drink hot.✎ Chef’s noteFor children, simply leave out the balsam: hot blackcurrant with cloves and mandarin is a winter drink in its own right.
Latvian winter tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
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Riga. The grey peas have protected status. Latvijas lielie pelekie zirni were registered in the EU scheme in 2015 and one cultivar was bred at the Priekuli institute, which is a surprising amount of paperwork for a bowl of peas with bacon and onion.
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Latvia. Latvian cooking is hearty and grey-pea-loving, built on rye bread, pork, potatoes, and the beloved cold beet soup. Foraging, dairy, and dark bread reflect a deep connection to the Baltic land and forest.
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Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Latvia
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Sklandrausis (Rye Carrot Tart)Little hand-raised rye pastry cases filled with potato and sweet spiced carrot purees, baked until set, an ancient Livonian specialty.
Frikadeļu ZupaA light, clear broth with tender meatballs and vegetables, a homey Latvian everyday soup.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Karstais Balzams (Hot Black Balsam with Blackcurrant)?
Blackcurrant juice warmed with cloves and mandarin, spiked with dark, bittersweet Riga Black Balsam and served steaming in mugs.
Where does Karstais Balzams (Hot Black Balsam with Blackcurrant) come from?
Karstais Balzams (Hot Black Balsam with Blackcurrant) is a Latvian dish from Riga, Latvia.
Can Karstais Balzams (Hot Black Balsam with Blackcurrant) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Karstais Balzams (Hot Black Balsam with Blackcurrant) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Karstais Balzams (Hot Black Balsam with Blackcurrant) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Karstais Balzams (Hot Black Balsam with Blackcurrant) take to make?
About 15 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking), serving 5.
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