22 February, 2011

Russian Soft Drinks 1: Tarkhun

The very first post here at Dave's Cupboard when I started the blog in 2006 was about the Russian beverage tarkhun (тархун), a soft drink based on tarragon extract.  Tarkhun is very popular in Russia, and there are several companies that produce, bottle, and import it into the United States.  Each brand has it's own original formula and because of this, each brand has its own distinctive flavor profile.  For the most part, though, they all have about the same shade of green.

In the local Russian supermarkets here, there are three readily-available brands of tarkhun.  We've tried all of them, and here are our impressions of each of them.
Rosinka is Lynnafred's favorite tarkhun.  This is partially because it was the first one she'd ever tried and partially because it's the brand that is the most like an American soft drink.  Rosinka has plenty of carbonation, is somewhat sweeter than the other brands, and has a mild tarragon flavor with slight notes of citrus and licorice (fairly typical of tarkhun, actually.) It's sold in a variety of sizes, including 1- and 2-litre bottles.

Ostankino Drinks - This brand of tarkhun is more fragrant and herbal than Rosinka.but still sweet and fizzy.  There are notes of licorice and vanilla and just the smallest hint of a medicinal quality, kind of like the one you get with a Riccola herbal cough drop. Ostankino actually makes two varieties of tarkhun, one bottled in plastic and one bottled in glass which they call "Ostankino Drinks Extra."  I haven't been able to tell the difference between the two except that the plastic-bottled variety seems to go flat faster after it's been opened.

Napitki iz Chernogolovki - bottled by Russian beverage giant Ost Company, this brand is strongly herbal-tasting, almost to the point of spiciness.  It is by far the brand most like an old-style "tonic" beverage and least like a modern soft drink (not to say it isn't sweet and carbonated, just that this tarkhun might be more of an acquired taste for Westerners unfamiliar with the beverage.)

Finding tarkhun near you:  Although everyone I know who has ever tried it likes it, tarkhun has never really caught on in the US, and there are no domestic bottlers here that I know of. It's unlikely that you will find it in any mainstream supermarket or convenience store, either.  Look for ethnic Russian or Eastern European markets near you - that will be your best bet.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm having a hard time imagining what a tarragon flavored soda would taste like, but I would like to try it. Unfortunately I live in a very rural area, if Wal-Mart or Meijer doesn't sell something my only option is mail order.

If you every come across a place to order this stuff from the net, please lets us know. :)

Dave said...

Anonymous - Tarkhun is available mailorder from Amazon (very expensive - something like $15 for 2 1L bottles, but eligible for free 2-day shipping if you're a Prime member) and from Russian Table.com - here is link that will take you directly to the product page:

Click Here

RussianTable.com is considerably less expensive, but I don't know what the shipping costs will be like (I've never done business with them.)

Anonymous said...

and the local Russian Market is?

Dave said...

@Anonymous -

Not knowing where you're from, I can't tell you where a Russian market local to you would be. Google can help with that.

Close to me, in West Springfield MA, there is Victory International Market at 553 Union Street. Also in West Springfield, at 753 Union, is the smaller Honey Bee Farms. Their selection is smaller because it's a smaller store.

Jhonney said...

I just tried the tarkhun and its very strange.. i like it though. I dont like regular pop.. I also dont like high fructose corn syrup so im glad it is free of that. Also there is some sort of strange berley pop have you tried that one?

Jhonney said...

I just tried the tarkhun and its very strange.. i like it though. I dont like regular pop.. I also dont like high fructose corn syrup so im glad it is free of that. Also there is some sort of strange berley pop have you tried that one?