Boukha

Ingredients

How boukha is made

• Ripe dried figs (traditionally the Tunisian Bither variety), 100% fig, no added grain or sugar
• Water, for the mash
• Wild or cultured yeast, for a 10–14 day fermentation
• Double distillation in copper pot stills to about 36–40% abv
• No barrel ageing – boukha is rested in glass or steel and bottled clear

To serve

• 60 mlboukha, kept in the freezer
• Chilled tulip or small stemmed glass
• Optional: ice cubes, a strip of orange peel
• Optional mixer: 120 ml chilled tonic or orange juice
• Kemia to accompany: salted almonds, olives, boiled eggs with harissa, tuna

Directions

1. Know what you are drinking: boukha is a fig eau-de-vie of Tunisian Jewish origin, first commercialised by Abraham Bokobsa in 1880 near Tunis and still made by the same family. This is a bought spirit – home distilling is illegal in most countries and unsafe without proper equipment.
2. In production, dried figs are steeped in warm water until the sugars dissolve into a sweet mash.
3. The mash is fermented for around two weeks until the sugar is converted and the liquid smells winey and slightly sour.
4. It is then distilled twice in a copper pot still, the distiller cutting away the volatile heads and the heavy tails and keeping only the clean central heart.
5. The heart is reduced with water to bottling strength, around 36–40% abv, and rested. Because it never touches wood, boukha stays water-clear and tastes of dried fig rather than oak.
6. To serve, keep the bottle in the freezer – it will not solidify at this strength and it pours thick and cold.
7. Pour 60 ml into a chilled tulip glass, neat and unadorned. Serve it before the meal, with kemia, the Tunisian spread of small salty dishes.
8. Sip slowly at the start of a meal, or lengthen it over ice with tonic. It is also splashed over sliced oranges and fresh figs at the end of a meal.

Technique

• The name comes from the Arabic for vapour or steam, a straightforward reference to distillation.
• Boukha is not flavoured or sweetened. If a bottle tastes syrupy it is a fig liqueur, not boukha.
• It became a fixture of Tunisian Jewish celebration and is drunk at Purim and at family gatherings; the Bokobsa house moved production to France after 1962 but the style is unchanged.

Substitutions

• If you cannot find boukha, an unaged fruit eau-de-vie such as slivovitz, kirsch or a good grappa fills the same role, though none has the soft dried-fruit sweetness of fig.
• For a non-alcoholic stand-in at the same point in a meal, serve cold fig-leaf infusion with a squeeze of lemon.

Variations

• Boukha served long with tonic and orange peel, the standard summer aperitif in Tunis.
• Fresh figs macerated in boukha with sugar for a week, spooned over ice cream.

History

Distilled from ripe figs by Tunisia’s Jewish community; the Bokobsa family began commercial production near Tunis in 1880 and the brand continues in France.

Frequently asked questions

What is Boukha?

Boukha is a wine & spirit from Tunisia: clear fig brandy drunk chilled as an aperitif or over ice. Distilled from ripe figs by Tunisia’s Jewish community; the Bokobsa family began commercial production near Tunis in 1880 and the brand continues in France.

How long does Boukha take to make?

Boukha takes 5 min of preparation and n/a – commercially distilled of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8 as an aperitif (from a 700 ml bottle). It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Boukha?

Yes, within limits. If you cannot find boukha, an unaged fruit eau-de-vie such as slivovitz, kirsch or a good grappa fills the same role, though none has the soft dried-fruit sweetness of fig. For a non-alcoholic stand-in at the same point in a meal, serve cold fig-leaf infusion with a squeeze of lemon.

What is the most important thing to get right in Boukha?

The heart is reduced with water to bottling strength, around 36–40% abv, and rested. Because it never touches wood, boukha stays water-clear and tastes of dried fig rather than oak.