This fall beverage will warm your bones! → BOILO!

Pin It

N

If you are from Pennsylvania, or more accurately the Coal Regions, you make or know someone who makes Boilo.

If you go into the Liquor Store in October and ask for boilo, they laugh at you, "We are sold out, its boilo season".    There is no other whiskey that you can use, it has to be Four Queens!

It's the perfect drink for having by a bon fire or even just a patio fire.  You sip it, its hot and the spices are so soothing.  It'll kick any cold virus out of ya too. 

This is the exact type up of the recipe that my step dad gave me....I do not  bring the alcohol to a boil, because that evaporates the alcohol.  There are many variations to this recipe, this is the one I like best...I've had apple versions and blueberry versions...I just like this one best. 

Try it, make a batch for your next get together or just for yourself, sit on the porch outside and stargaze while sipping it.  Either have friends over when you make it, or have some extra canning jars available because the stuff never fits back in the bottle after making it.

   BOLIO

JIM LAUDEMAN

1 bottle Four queens whiskey

   Here's the recipe for the boilo and its all tea spoons NOT table
spoons.
      1 cup a water
      2 cups of honey or slightly less.... never more...
      1 lemon
      1 orange
      4 cinnamon sticks about 3 inches long.  If the sticks are 5 or 6
inches I only add 2 or 3.
      1 tsp of anise ... dont over power the boilo with this... 1 level
spoon seems to work best
      1 tsp of cardamon powder...this is strong... (make it a level spoon).
If you get cardamon seed then use 2       tsp of cardamon seed.
      2 tsp of whole all spice... size does not matter for this.
      2 tsp of caraway seed.. again this doesn't matter.  2 large tsp cant
over power the original taste.

      Cut up the lemon and orange anyway ya like.
      Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.  Or more if you want.
      Add the whiskey ....
      taste it
      bring to a boil.
      taste it
      simmer of about 5 minutes.
      taste it
      simmer with it covered for about 10 minutes
      taste it
      let is stand and cool for a few minutes and strain it.
      taste it
      strain it the best you can.
      taste it
      bottle it
      taste it
      crawl to bed

If you double or triple this, skimp on the honey, it gets to be too much...I cut it down to a cup of honey for each recipe over the first.

Here is a night of making Boilo at my house...my kitchen/house is under construction perpetually, so don't mind the messy background.  We got pretty silly and my house is always grand central, so we have friends who stop by for some fun. The pics are awful, my sister walked around with the camera snapping pics of anything and everything...You'll see. I know that I am going to catch hell for posting these pics...hehe!

This is Jim

↓

Mom is tending the pot

↓

Harley Stamm and Gage VanKeuren

↓

Terry, Tammy and Gage Van Keuren

↓

Jordan and Devynne (my nieces)

↓

Shawn Fromm stops by

↓

Brian was here, were is Alex, I have no pics of him, I guess Gretchen didnt' take the camera upstairs to the video gamers.

↓

I know, don't let the dog in, just take his pic

↓

Me and Terry, my good friend's husband

↓

Gretchen's self portrait...

↓

Amanda,

↓

My hubby Allen and Tammy (don't ask, I am not sure about these two lol)

↓

What is this you ask....my sister with my camera, taking pics of the victoria secret catalog lol

↓

What is really sad is, there are no pics of the boilo!~  You can see the pot on the stove..but where is the shots of us all toasting the finished product Gretchen?  LOL   

I guess I have to make more boilo and try to get some pics of the actually product~




There are many variations of this recipe.  Jackie Hoffman of Y102 Radio (www.wrfy.com) sent met his recipe in email a few years ago.  There are apple and blueberry recipes too.

She calls it Glenn's Boilo Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

·  2 Two-liter bottles of ginger ale

·  2 bottles of 4-queens whiskey

·  6 quartered oranges

·  2 quartered lemons

·  1 jar of cinnamon sticks

·  1/2 small jar of caraway seeds

·  32 ounces of honey 

INSTRUCTIONS:
Let all ingredients except your alcohol boil, reduce heat and cover for one hour. Add your juice (moonshine, whiskey, whatever), let it sleep. Strain and bottle. Recipe will make 4.5 bottles. Make sure you put 2 cinnamon sticks in the bottles and serve warm! 

Black Diamonds: Lost Ethnic Cooking Recipes from the Coal Region of Pennsylvania. (Black Diamonds: Lost Ethnic Cooking Recipes from the Coal Region of Pennsylvania - Series 1., Black Diamonds: Lost Ethnic Cooking Recipes from the Coal Region of Pennsylvania - Volume 2.)