Riga Black Balsam 1752 Original Recipe Cherry

Riga Black Balsam 1752 Original Recipe Cherry is a cherry edition of the historic Latvian balsam, first developed in Riga in the mid 18th century. The original Riga Black Balsam dates to 1752 and is built on 24 all natural ingredients, an oak aged blend of herbs, roots, berries and buds that gives it a deep, multi layered character. This variant carries fruity cherry over that herbal base and is bottled at 30%.

The nose is fruity with ripe cherries and herbal notes, while the palate brings spicy herbal and tart notes alongside juicy cherries, closing long, spicy and fruity. For a bar it offers the bittersweet herbal backbone of a Latvian balsam softened with cherry fruit, a way to add aromatic depth, colour and a tart sweetness to a long drink. The house serve is a cherry soda: fill a lowball with ice, add a measure of the Cherry balsam, top with soda water and garnish with a cherry. It also pours neat, slightly chilled, as a Latvian aperitif.