#kvas

@dreamsatdusk mentioned a Q&A that I also stumbled upon and managed to find it again. Here be link.

All of it just doesn't make sense. If you model your fantasy world on Russia, you should take some research first and then do your version in a way that doesn't completely retcon the original culture.

As for Ravkan. I am a linguistics major and this is not how it's done. She either could have come up with a totally fake language or work with Russian in a way where the new words are coined based on word formation rules of that language. To do so, you really need to know those rules, at for that you need to really know the language, so consult a student of Russian and pay them with a mention in your book. As a student I would have been thrilled with such an opportunity.

Renaming vodka with a name of another existent beverage that is as alcoholic as kefir was not a good idea.

So I just looked up the etymology of vodka in Wikipedia and a random distillery site (first two hits on Google).

Here we go:

1.

People in the area of vodka's probable origin have names for vodka with roots meaning "to burn": Polish: gorzała; Ukrainian: горілка, romanized: horílka; Belarusian: гарэлка, romanized: harelka; Lithuanian: degtinė; Samogitian: degtėnė is also in use, colloquially and in proverbs); Latvian: degvīns; Finnish: paloviina. In Russian during the 17th and 18th centuries, горящѣе вино or горячее вино (goryashchee vino, "burning wine" or "hot wine") was widely used. Others languages include the German Branntwein, Danish brændevin, Dutch: brandewijn, Swedish: brännvin, and Norwegian: brennevin (although the latter terms refer to any strong alcoholic beverage).

2.

At the start of the 12th century, this substance was often used for medical purposes—to disinfect and to numb. Interestingly the verb razvodit—etymologically close to the word voda, from which the word vodka is derived—means to dilute with water. This meaning of the word reflects the last step of the process of making vodka. During the 17th and 18th century, vodka also went by the names “bread wine,” “bitter wine,” and “горящее вино“ (goryashchee vino), meaning “burning wine.” The first name “bread wine” is derived from the imperial practice of having vodka with bread at every meal, while the latter two clearly come from the taste and burning sensation that accompany a sip of vodka. The first recorded use of the actual term vodka did not occur until 1751 in Empress Elizabeth’s decree regulating the ownership of vodka distilleries. Vodka is still the most common name for this drink, today, but it has acquired a litany of others, including: “hot water,” “the monopolka,” “the bubble,” “crankshaft,” “the white stuff,” “half litre,” “daughter,” and “the bitter stuff.”

So many possibilities to play with. The "fire" could have been used effectively, IMHO. Oh, well.

In a world of Karens culturally appropriating drinks for their ~new age~ health crap like kombucha and kvas (and making kvas from fruit like the western heathens they are), I am here to present my recipe for KVAS.

I make kvas in a modern way. Tbh I don't just natural collection of yeast (unless you're in, say, the KSA and alcohol is banned you gotta make do…) so I use champagne yeast and proper fermentation equipment.

Equipment:

Vessel of your choice for fermentation (I have a gallon carboy)

Airlock and stopper

Syphoning tubing

Empy vessels for storage (I use swingtop bottles)

Large pot

Oven and cookie sheet

Sieve

Cheesecloth

Ingredients:

Black bread (DARK rye / Russian rye) — 1-2 loaves

Yeast (I use EC-1118)

500g sugar

50-100g honey

Organic raisins (handful/one packet)

Recipe:

Cut bread loaf into equal slices

Place bread onto cookie sheet and place into preheated oven to 175°C

In a large pot add ~6,5-7 litres of water and put on med-high heat

Take bread out of oven when properly toasted (I like my bread ~10m before brunt)

Add bread to what now should be boiling water

Add sugar 20m into the boil

50m later add the honey

5-10m after the honey is added remove pot from heat and cool using ice bath to about 30-35°C

Filter using cheesecloth-lined sieve into the sanitised fermentation vessel

Add one packet of yeast, cover the vessel and shake for 30sec

Place a stopper and airlock on the vessel and ferment in a dark, room temp area for 7-8 days (until there's no movement on the airlock)

Open the vessel and add the raisins and wait 1 more day

If the raisins should be floating on top and bloated, syphon the kvas into your storage vessels and refrigerate

After a day of refrigeration, burp the vessels (only needs to be done once)