When an old family recipe for boilo recently surfaced, it wasn’t long before cousins Ryan Twardzik and Paul Domalakes whipped up a batch of the potent holiday drink.
“We made it for the first time the week before Thanksgiving,” Domalakes said, “and served it at a family gathering.”
The rediscovery of the recipe, a rare 100-year-old formula that includes the aromatic spice cardamom, reestablished a link to the northern Schuylkill County family’s past.
“It was a connection we didn’t even know existed,” said Domalakes, 31, a production supervisor at a seed company in Pottsville.
A rich history
Making boilo, a holiday tradition for many families, is an integral part of coal region culture and heritage.
Immigrant miners from Lithuania and Poland are credited with developing the brew in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While it is a derivative of the Polish honey liqueur krupnik — krupnikas in Lithuanian — boilo has a character all its own.
In her book “No Wrong Way to Boilo,” Amy Dougherty of Orwigsburg, who writes as Amy Dee, says immigrant miners lacked the ability to distill krupnik, so they boiled a similar brew, thus the name “boilo.”
Though it draws a snicker when people say they take it for medicinal purposes only, Dougherty argues that boilo began as folk medicine, at least in part.
“Hard day in the mines? Boilo,” she writes. “Got a cold, the flu, coal dust got you down? Boilo.”
Michael Chaklos, 69, a retired Carpenter Technology worker who lives in Frackville, couldn’t agree more. It’s always been a staple in the family medicine cabinet, and his 92-year-old father, Francis, still enjoys an occasional shot.
“Boilo is the poor man’s Nyquil,” Chaklos said. “Put a shot of boilo in a cup of hot tea, crawl into bed under an extra blanket, and you’ll feel a lot better in the morning.”
Whose boilo is best?
It’s fair to assume that few in the crowd of more than 100 at the annual boilo contest in Friendship Fire Company No. 1, Frackville, came to sample boilo for medicinal purposes.
An outsider might have thought it was bingo night at the firehouse on the evening of the day after Thanksgiving.
But it was boilo, not bingo, that had people lining up on both sides of long tables in the firehouse’s social quarters.
Friendship has sponsored a boilo making contest for about 20 years.
Contestants in two categories, traditional and flavored, pay a $5 entry fee to have their boilo taste-tested by a panel of six judges. A winner is selected in each category, and there’s also a People’s Choice Award.
In repurposed whiskey bottles and large Mason jars, 13 traditional and 12 flavored boilos were entered this year.
Jason Witmier, a judge for about 10 years, said he looks for taste, color and aroma in deciding who makes the best boilo.
“The most important thing, though, is that it’s got to have some kick to it,” said Witmier, 50, a New Ringgold truck parts salesman.
At home, Witmier makes a traditional style boilo, using fruit, peppercorns and cinnamon sticks.
“You have to take your time making it,” he said, “and get the spices to cook really well.”
Interesting flavors
Brian Rose’s peach boilo won the contest about eight years back, but these days, he makes a pear-flavored brew.
“It might be the last year for it,” said Rose, a Pottsville resident who works in Yuengling’s bottling plant. “I can no longer get my secret ingredient, pear cider. The old farmer who made it doesn’t do it anymore.”
Parker Rose, Brian’s son, was among those who sampled small amounts of boilo, maybe an ounce or so, in judging the People’s Choice Award.
“It has to have a good, spicy taste,” said Rose, 24, a Pottsville accountant. “And it should have a nice, warm feeling going down.”
Representing a new breed of enthusiasts, Kiley Chaklos and Allison Yaneck, both of Frackville, concocted an orange creamsicle boilo.
“We boil the ingredients for about 15 minutes, strain it and add Four Queens to make a coal region classic,” said Chaklos, who says boilo is a family tradition.
Queen of boilo
Old-timers, in what one observer described as the coal region’s “Boilo Belt,” used moonshine as the brew’s alcohol component.
Today, as Doughetry writes, whiskey, vodka, rum and even brandy are alternatives. And diehards use Everclear, a potent grain alcohol that’s not easy to find in Pennsylvania.
In this region, Four Queens reigns as boilo royalty.
“Four Queens is known as an ingredient in making boilo, a traditional Christmas or Yuletide drink in the coal region of northeastern and central Pennsylvania,” says Laird & Co., its New Jersey distiller.
A high proof spirit made during Prohibition, its alcohol content has been reduced over time. Still, Four Queens, a blended whiskey, is rated at 101 proof.
John Wahl, northeast regional sales manager, said 95% of Four Queens is sold in Pennsylvania. Of that, 40% is sold in coal region counties.
“Pennsylvania residents understand that you can’t beat the price and quality ratio of Four Queens Whiskey 101 proof,” said Wahl, a resident of Old Forge, Lackawanna County.
Calling boilo and Four Queens secret Pennsylvania treasures, Wahl stressed their interdependence.
“We depend on boilo, and boilo depends on us,” he said. “I hope the boilo tradition continues from generation to generation.”
Good old days
Boilo was, of course, a staple at Lithuanian Day at Lakewood Park near Barnesville.
In an item published in the Pottsville Republican in 1997, the writer lamented the passage of Lithuanian Day at the park, where it was held for about 70 years. It moved to the Schuylkill Mall and today is back where the park used to be at Catalpa Grove.
“Today’s celebrations are mild compared to the sometimes raucous gatherings of the ’20s and ’30s,” the writer said. “It isn’t likely anyone will spend the night on a bench at the Schuylkill Mall, where the event has been held since 1989, to reserve a spot. And families won’t tap kegs of beer or take swigs of boilo, an eastern European elixir containing grain alcohol, honey and various fruits, like they did at the Lake.”
Though often associated with families, boilo was offered in taverns during the Great Depression.
In April 1934, the Helen Ogitis Grille in Shenandoah ran a newspaper ad offering an apparent complimentary drink on Easter Monday night.
“Special for tonight: Eggnog or boilo for treat,” it read.
In February of the same year, Ogitis offered “hot boilo or hot toddy,” perhaps as a chaser for its 15-cent highballs.
Coal region boilo recipe
There are many recipes for boilo, but here’s a basic formula.
Ingredients:
4 cups water
4 ½ pounds of clover honey
4 oranges quartered
3 lemons quartered
1 cup raisins
6 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
½ teaspoon whole cloves
Directions
Pour water and honey into a large pot over medium heat, stir to combine. Stir in orange and lemon quarters, raisins, cinnamon sticks, caraway seeds, allspice berries and cloves and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, and strain liquid into a large pot. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Slowly pour in the alcohol of your choice and stir to combine. Serve gently warmed in shot glasses.
Source: Berkshire mont