Becherovka

I just came back from a week in Prague, My host gave me a bottle of Becherovka . The internet suggests a number oa alternatives...ie with tonic. What would my esteemed brothers and sisters suggest as the proper way to drink this?

Straight up!

I enjoyed this in Prague with tonic and a twist of lemon. I thought it was very refreshing. So refreshing, in fact, that I brought a bottle home.

I prefer it with tonic over ice as a refresher, with or without a twist. Too often (with my Czech friend) I end up having it straight, out of a room-temperature bottle.

I have been trying to come up with a nice cocktail using this stuff, but so far nothing has truly thrilled me.

It is a tasty libation though, and I think that the above suggestions to keep it simple with ice, tonic, and citrus might be the way to go.

Many Chicago area liquor stores carry it for $17 or so.

Me too! I just got back from Prague and tasted this and loved it. I'm glad to learn that it's available here in Chicagoland.

We were served it room temperature, straight up.

I only drink it straight, but I've seen it mixed with apple juice (a natural pairing, in my opinion, given the spicy cinnamon-clovey-anise flavors of Becherovka) and the Czechs sometimes drink it mixed with tonic water, in a drink known as "beton" ("concrete"), a portmanteau of BEcherovka + TONic.

Where do they sell Becherovka in Chicago? I haven't seen it since I came back two years ago.

I'd be astonished not to find it at Sam's. Indeed, if memory serves, I have seen it there not all that long ago.

Good luck!

A quick search of the Sam's and Binny's web sites showed Carlsbad at each. Sam's was $18.99 and Binny's was 21.99, which is pretty amazing as Sam's pricing is usually a bit higher than Binny's. I'd call whichever store I intended to visit to make sure this item was in stock.

A few years ago while on a tour in the Czech Republic I was given a bottle for my birthday by my (Czech) guides. I liked it, and worked my way through the whole bottle straight and at room temperature mostly, though I did add an ice cube or two once or twice.

Given the sweetness and various herbal flavors (primarily caraway if memory serves, but there is a lot of other stuff going on there), I would lean more toward soda than tonic water, if I wanted to dilute it. But I would either have it straight or on the rocks. Proof is not so high that it needs dilution, and the traditional way to drink it is definitely neat.

I cannot think of any cocktail combo that sounds tempting with the caraway and sweetness, but I wonder if it might make an interesting champagne cocktail variation - the bubbles and yeast complementing the liqueur. No need to spend a lot on the champagne, of course.

I agree that Becherovka & tonic is not my favorite (but a lot of Czechs seem to like it), but apple juice pairs with it very well. While there may be caraway in Becherovka (I personally can't detect it), it's not the dominant flavor--it's more cinnamon, cloves, anise, "Christmas spices" up front. Are you sure you're not thinking of kümmel?

I was at Sam's yesterday and asked for Becherovka. They said they didn't have it anymore, and that the distributor had discontinued it. Oh, no!

I recently picked up a bottle at Binny's for my Czech relatives up in Wisconsin. You can also find it at the Miska's Liquors on Cermak Road in Berwyn (natch!). Now if only I could find the black-label Herold Beer in addition to their green label wheat lager.

I found my bottle at Binny's as well. Na zdraví!