Bolio
November 16, 2008
The punch lines to a few more jokes I can’t tell on the air:
• “She shucks between fits.”
• “Because I’m dating a harmonica player.”
With the colder weather here, it’s getting to be time for me to make Boilo. For those of you who don’t have roots in the anthracite coal region of Eastern PA (Schuylkill, Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northumberland, and Columbia Counties), or who haven’t been boozin’ with me at the Monkey Bar, let me explain.
Back where I’m from, Boilo is a traditional wintertime drink. Some call it the “Champagne of the Coal Region,” (it’s true, I’ve seen on both t-shirts and shot glasses) and there’s nothing like having a shot or two right after you come in from the cold. Families traditionally serve it to friends and guests between Thanksgiving and Easter. Some have their own secret recipes, and there are places that hold “Best Boilo” contests. Boilo is to the “da region,” what chili is to Texas. But less farty.
I haven’t yet had the chance to see how mine stacks up in formal competition, but it’s been a big hit when I serve it at my place. The foundation for my little concoction came from www.coalregion.com, but that was just the starting point. Over the years I’ve played around with the recipe, adding different spices, adjusting the mix and whatnot. Also, I make it a point to talk to other people who make the stuff and blatantly steal their ideas.
Boilo is made mainly of orange and lemon juice, raisins, honey, various spices, and a whole lotta whiskey. It’s served warm, about the temperature of a cup of coffee, in a hot shot glass. If it’s made right, it’s smooth going down, then explodes when it hits your belly. With all that citrus and honey, not to mention the 80+ proof whiskey, it’s just the thing during flu season. Either this stuff cures the common cold, or else it makes you forget that you were ever sick.
I wish I had a family recipe to pass along, but when my grandfather made it, I think he went largely on instinct and memory. I’ve been told that his father didn’t speak much English, so it’s likely that it was never written down. Plus, Pop Scubs fueled his Boilo with homemade moonshine. Since them Duke Boys don’t seem to be runnin’ shine my way, and the Baldwin Sisters aren’t parting with any of “The Recipe”, I use the store-bought stuff--usually Black Velvet and 151 with a little Firewater thrown in for good measure. In really good Boilo, you barely taste the alcohol, at least not on the way down. But man do you know it was in there.
Anyway, I’ll let you know how it comes out. If I remember.
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