Atlas dates back to 1871, when the Jewish alcohol merchant Mojżesz Lejb Atlas started his business here. Running taverns and trading in drink had for centuries been a common occupation for Jewish families in Galicia. The place became famous for its own cordials – “Atlasówka”, “Śmietankówka”, “Nemówka”. In the time of the founder’s son-in-law, Edward Tarlerski, they became part of the bohemian legend of interwar Lviv: one was even named after a regular, the satirical poet Henryk Zbierzchowski, who signed himself “Nemo”.
We do not know what “Atlasówka” tasted like. So we offer not a copy but a cordial in the spirit of that era: with citrus peel, cinnamon and cloves and a drop of honey. Spiced drinks like this were common on the Galician table.
About 0.5 l · 15 min work + 10–14 days steeping · Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
- 500 ml vodka, 40%
- peel of 1 lemon (yellow part only)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3–4 cloves
- 1 tbsp honey
- a piece of vanilla pod or a pinch of vanilla
Method
- Wash the lemon well in hot water and dry it. Thinly pare the yellow peel without the white pith – it makes the drink bitter.
- Stir the honey into a few spoonfuls of vodka until dissolved.
- Put the peel, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla into a clean glass jar. Pour in the honey mixture and the rest of the vodka and seal tightly.
- Leave for 10–14 days in a dark place at room temperature, shaking from time to time.
- Strain through muslin or a paper filter. Taste and add more honey if you like.
- Bottle and let the cordial rest for a few days: the taste will become softer and more rounded.
Tips
- Don’t use more than 3–4 cloves: they quickly overpower the other aromas.
- If the cordial is too spicy, dilute it with a little plain vodka.
- Store in dark glass, away from light.
About the recipe
Atlas’s original recipes have not survived. This is a cordial in the style of the spiced drinks of the time, not a documented recipe.