Riga Black Balsam and Bars: Herbal Liqueur and Craft Beer Guide

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Riga Black Balsam (Rīgas Melnais balzams) is a black, bittersweet 45% ABV herbal liqueur made since 1752 from twenty-four botanicals to pharmacist Abraham Kunze’s secret recipe. Sold in brown clay jugs, it is drunk neat as a digestif, mixed into cocktails, or blended with blackcurrant juice as a hot winter drink. To try it, go to the apothecary-style tasting bar Black Magic, the medieval cellar taproom Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs or the 26th-floor Skyline Bar. Or book a tour: a Black Balsam history and tasting tourad is sold on GetYourGuide.

⚠️ Try the Black Currant version if the Original is too bitter. The Original 45% liqueur is herbal, earthy and medicinal. The Black Currant edition (Upeņu, 30% ABV) adds sweet-tart blackcurrant juice and is easier to drink, especially warmed with a slice of orange.

What is Riga Black Balsam? History and ingredients

Riga Black Balsam was created in 1752 by the Riga apothecary and pharmacist Abraham Kunze.

According to Baltic lore, Russian Empress Catherine the Great fell ill with stomach cramps on a visit to Riga. Kunze gave her his herbal elixir, she recovered, and she granted him exclusive imperial privileges to produce it.

The secret formula: 24 botanicals

Latvijas Balzams, the Latvian drinks company founded in 1900, produces it, and the master recipe stays a closely guarded secret:

• The botanicals: Twenty-four natural ingredients, including valerian root, wormwood, ginger root, gentian, bitter orange peel, linden blossom, oak bark, birch buds, nutmeg, black pepper and honey.
• The process: The botanicals steep in high-proof grain spirit and water in oak vats to make a concentrated essence. The essence is aged for at least thirty days in charred oak casks, then blended with pure spirit, water and caramelised burnt sugar, which gives the ink-black colour.
• The ceramic jug: Black Balsam has always been bottled in brown earthenware. The clay shields the herbal extracts from sunlight and temperature swings.

Modern variations

Latvijas Balzams makes four main varieties:

• Original (45% ABV): Bittersweet and peppery, with a lingering herbal warmth.
• Black Currant (Upeņu, 30% ABV): The original 24-herb extract blended with Nordic blackcurrant juice.
• Cherry (Ķiršu, 30% ABV): Infused with sour cherry juice, with a sweet almond note.
• Element (40% ABV): Blended with aged dark Caribbean rum and tropical spices, made for cocktails.

Where to drink: specialty balsam bars

Three venues in Riga are built around Black Balsam:

1. Black Magic Bar (Kaļķu iela 10)

In Old Riga, on the site of an 18th-century pharmacy, Black Magic is styled as a tasting apothecary:

• Atmosphere: Made to evoke Abraham Kunze’s 1752 laboratory, with dark carved timber shelving, antique brass scales, apothecary jars, candlelight and servers in historical velvet costumes.
• The secret room: Push through the rotating bookshelf into an underground brick cellar displaying alchemical apparatus and old bottling tools.
• Tasting flights: Order a flight comparing Original, Black Currant, Cherry and Element, paired with handmade balsam dark chocolate truffles, marzipan and plum tarts.

2. B Bārs Restorāns (Doma laukums 2)

On Dome Square opposite Riga Dome Cathedral, B Bārs is a cocktail bar that mixes Black Balsam:

• Clavis Riga (The Key to Riga): B Bārs created this cocktail of original Black Balsam, De Kuyper sour rhubarb liqueur, apple juice, pomegranate syrup and fresh orange peel, garnished with rosemary.
• Black Night Dancer: Black Balsam, blackberry liqueur, fresh lemon juice and cola.

3. Skyline Bar (Radisson Blu Latvija, 26th Floor)

Located on Elizabetes iela in the Centrs district:

• A glass express lift takes you up twenty-six floors to 360-degree views over Old Riga’s church spires, the Daugava River and the city lights.
• The bar serves signature balsam cocktails alongside Asian tapas.

Craft beer cellars and Old Town taprooms

Latvian brewing goes back to the medieval Hanseatic guilds, and Riga now has a cluster of craft taprooms:

1. Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs (Peldu iela 19)

ALA Pagrabs fills a large medieval stone-and-brick cellar in Old Riga:

• The taps: Twenty-eight Latvian craft beers, ciders and meads, from independent microbreweries across Vidzeme and Kurzeme.
• Food: Rustic tavern dishes: wooden platters of smoked pork ribs, Latvian grey peas with diced speck, garlic bread strips with cheese dip, and slow-roasted pork knuckle.
• Atmosphere: Long communal timber tables, vaulted brick ceilings, live Latvian folk music, and folk dancing every Wednesday and at weekends.

2. Labietis (Aristida Briāna iela 9a)

In the Briāna quarter just north of the city centre, Labietis is a craft brewery inspired by pagan Baltic brewing:

• Herbal brewing: Labietis brews with wild meadow herbs, yarrow, heather blossoms, juniper branches, bog myrtle and caraway in the malt mash, after old Baltic methods.
• Beers to try: Mežs (a juniper and pine-needle ale), Plava (a summer meadow herbal blonde) or Soho Švītiņš (an English-style pale ale).

3. Other taprooms

• Alķīmiķis (Lāčplēša iela 12): A microbrewery and gastropub serving house-brewed IPAs and stouts with burgers.
• Nurme Bar (Vagonu iela 21): The taproom of Nurme craft brewery, in a converted industrial brick courtyard, with sours, saisons and wild-fermented Baltic ciders.

Bar safety, tipping and nightlife customs

• Tipping: Optional. Leave 5% to 10%, in cash or on the card terminal, for table service; at the bar counter, round up to the nearest euro.
• Cards: Contactless payment is accepted in almost every bar, cocktail lounge and cellar. Cash is useful only in small open-air beer gardens.
• Avoiding overcharging: Do not follow touts into unmarked basement bars, check the drink prices on the menu before ordering, and pay by card as the drinks are served.
• Buying Black Balsam as a souvenir: Bottles are sold in the major supermarkets (Rimi, Maxima) across the city.

What to explore next

• Where to eat in Riga: Traditional restaurants, seafood bistros and modern Baltic dining.
• Riga Central Market Guide: Taste farm cheeses, smoked fish and warm baked snacks.
• Riga Christmas Market and Winter Guide: Hot blackcurrant balsam on Dome Square.
• Free things to do in Riga: Architectural walks and river viewpoints between bars.
• Is Riga Safe?: Nightlife districts and getting around after dark.

Common questions

What is Riga Black Balsam?

Riga Black Balsam (Rīgas Melnais balzams) is a traditional Latvian herbal bitter liqueur dating back to 1752. Made from 24 natural botanical ingredients aged in charred oak barrels and bottled at 45% ABV in clay bottles, it tastes bittersweet, herbal and medicinal.

How do you drink Riga Black Balsam?

Neat or on the rocks as an after-dinner digestif, splashed into black coffee or tea, poured over vanilla ice cream, or mixed into cocktails. In winter the Black Currant (30% ABV) version is served warm with steamed apple or blackcurrant juice and cinnamon.

Where can you try Riga Black Balsam in Riga?

Black Magic Bar (Kaļķu iela 10) in Old Riga is styled as an 18th-century apothecary, with secret bookshelf doors, balsam tastings and handmade balsam chocolates. For a wider cocktail list, go to B Bārs on Dome Square.

Why is Black Balsam bottled in clay jugs?

The brown earthenware bottles shield the herbal extracts from sunlight and temperature swings.

Where can you drink Latvian craft beer in Riga?

Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs (Peldu iela 19) in Old Riga has 28 Latvian craft beers, ciders and meads on tap in a medieval brick cellar with live folk music. For ales brewed with wild herbs and heather, go to the Labietis taproom in the Briāna quarter.