Holy Rigas Melnais Balsams, Batman!!
Dec. 30th, 2004 04:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dragonlady7I just spent the entire wad of money I have earned in tips thusfar to buy food and drink. I spent more on liquor than I ought to have, but, and this is the only reason I went over my budget, but they have BLACK BALSAM in Premier Liquor!!!
Black Balsam, for those who may not know, is a Latvian drink. It's a kind of bitter cordial, 90 proof, midnight black. Dave got a bottle of it two Christmases ago: his mom dug it out of the basement, whence it had been left by her father, who had smuggled it from the Soviet Union. (Her father was a refugee from Latvia, and remained active while in the U.S. in smuggling other people out of the USSR, and the like-- she never really knew what he was up to, but there were all kinds of secret meetings in the basement that involved bottles upon bottles of Black Balsam and, I believe, some sort of American whiskey.
Dave drinks it the way his uncle said-- you cut it half and half with vodka. According to the website, that's called a "black amber" and should be garnished with a lemon slice. There are other recipes on there, and Dave's getting excited to try them. He's just so happy we found it again-- you just can't get it anywhere. In Jersey City we used to drink it with Ribena, but you can't find Ribena anywhere around here either.
Anyhow. Everyone, come to Premier and buy Black Balsam so that they'll keep restocking it!!
So exciting.
And oh-- it's very good for a sore throat and cold. My headache, congestion, sore throat, and sinus pressure is totally gone now. As is my hand-eye coordination. Whee!!
added: I think it makes it better that we're drinking the balsam out of Aunt Matilda's champagne glasses because we don't have proper cordial glasses.
added still later: Dave is writing a letter to Mr. Premiere of Premiere Liquors on Delaware just south of Sheridan (3445 Delaware, Kenmore NY 14217, largest liquor store in the state of NY) , to thank him for stocking Rigas Black Balsam. (In English it's just Riga Black Balsam. Our old bottle was in Cyrillic and was called Rigas Melnais Balzams. With a long mark over the I in Rigas.)
Yeah, Dave's doing much better. Me, i'm feeling better about having spent all my money because now he's happy. But he needs a job because I can't pay for his car. All the other bills, I can do, but not the car.
Black Balsam, for those who may not know, is a Latvian drink. It's a kind of bitter cordial, 90 proof, midnight black. Dave got a bottle of it two Christmases ago: his mom dug it out of the basement, whence it had been left by her father, who had smuggled it from the Soviet Union. (Her father was a refugee from Latvia, and remained active while in the U.S. in smuggling other people out of the USSR, and the like-- she never really knew what he was up to, but there were all kinds of secret meetings in the basement that involved bottles upon bottles of Black Balsam and, I believe, some sort of American whiskey.
Dave drinks it the way his uncle said-- you cut it half and half with vodka. According to the website, that's called a "black amber" and should be garnished with a lemon slice. There are other recipes on there, and Dave's getting excited to try them. He's just so happy we found it again-- you just can't get it anywhere. In Jersey City we used to drink it with Ribena, but you can't find Ribena anywhere around here either.
Anyhow. Everyone, come to Premier and buy Black Balsam so that they'll keep restocking it!!
So exciting.
And oh-- it's very good for a sore throat and cold. My headache, congestion, sore throat, and sinus pressure is totally gone now. As is my hand-eye coordination. Whee!!
added: I think it makes it better that we're drinking the balsam out of Aunt Matilda's champagne glasses because we don't have proper cordial glasses.
added still later: Dave is writing a letter to Mr. Premiere of Premiere Liquors on Delaware just south of Sheridan (3445 Delaware, Kenmore NY 14217, largest liquor store in the state of NY) , to thank him for stocking Rigas Black Balsam. (In English it's just Riga Black Balsam. Our old bottle was in Cyrillic and was called Rigas Melnais Balzams. With a long mark over the I in Rigas.)
Yeah, Dave's doing much better. Me, i'm feeling better about having spent all my money because now he's happy. But he needs a job because I can't pay for his car. All the other bills, I can do, but not the car.
Dear Mr Premier...
Date: 2004-12-30 10:23 pm (UTC)The following is my letter to Mr Premier, for those who are interested.
When I moved back to Buffalo, I was thrilled with the idea of being able to once again shop at Premier. Your selection is simply the best I've seen anywhere. But every time I visited, I'd rush to the cordials aisle only to be disappointed by the absence of my favorite liqueur. I chalked it up to being part of a niche market.
But today, when I made my usual stroll through the cordials aisle, I was so thrilled to see Riga Black Balsam in stock that I bought two bottles. You've made my day, thankyouthankyouthankyou.
If you haven't had it, it's an herbal liqueur [sort of along the lines of Jägermeister, but not so frighteningly sweet] best served cold and cut half-and-half with vodka. Also, it works wonders on a sore throat.
At any rate, I'm not sure whether Western New York's Latvian population is quite enough to sustain your continued stocking of Black Balsam, but you've got at least one return customer for it. Thank you.
- Dave Kleinschmidt
_______________
ps. I'm not a crazy stalker. I got your email address from premiergroup.net's privacy policy.
Re: Dear Mr Premier...
Date: 2004-12-30 10:25 pm (UTC)Me = kind of drunk. Yay!!
Re: Dear Mr Premier...
Date: 2004-12-31 05:50 pm (UTC)Dear Dave,
Wait a minute. You say you drink Riga Black Balsam and you're NOT a
crazy stalker? I don't follow...
Seriously, I'm not familiar with the history of how often we've carried
the product, but I'm happy that we had it for you, and I'll let the
store know that they should keep a bottle or two around just in case.
Thanks for the message and thanks for shopping with Premier. Best
wishes for the New Year.
Very truly yours,
Howard Riedel