Sbiten

Russian traditional winter drink served hot

Sbiten (сбитень) or vzvar (взвар) Ukrainian, Russian) hot winter beverage. It has a dark purple appearance and, depending on the recipe, can be very spicy and/or very sweet. It used to have the reputation of a Russian Glühwein, although it normally contains no alcohol. In the 18th century sbiten still rivalled tea in popularity and was considered a cheaper option. After the breakup of the Soviet Union it was revived as a sickly sweet and spicy syrup widely distributed through monastery shops. A producer from Pushkinskiye Gory reports sales of about 12 tons of sbiten each month.

Like mead and medovukha, sbiten' is based on honey mixed with water, spices, and jam. One recipe of sbiten' is described in the 16th century Domostroy. Compared to kvass, sbiten' is very simple to prepare. In some recipes, honey and sbiten' flavor (spices, juices) are boiled down and then these two parts are combined and boiled again. In other recipes, all the ingredients are combined and boiled at once. The drink can also be made alcoholic by substituting red wine for the water. It can be garnished with mint leaves or cinnamon sticks.

Sbitenshchik (сбитенщик) was a sbiten vendor in medieval Russia and the Russian Empire who attracted attention to his merchandise by loud advertisement calls and chastushkas. Sbiten peddlers contributed to the development of the samovar. In the 18th century they invented its precursor called sbitennik (сбитенник) — a type of kettle that kept sbiten warm at all times.