Shimiin Arkhi

Ingredients

Ferment (khoormog / aarts)

• 6 litreswhole raw cow or yak milk, unhomogenised
• 300 mllive starter from a previous batch of tarag or airag (about 5 percent)

Traditional still

• 1large cast-iron cauldron (togoo) set into the stove
• 1hollow wooden cylinder (buleer) to sit on the cauldron rim
• 1small wooden collecting bowl on a low stand inside the cylinder
• 1shallow metal pan of cold water to cap the cylinder
• Fresh dough or wet felt strips, to seal every joint
• 8 litrescold water for changing the condenser

To serve

• 1silver or wooden bowl per guest
• Aaruul (dried curd) and boortsog, alongside

Directions

1. Sour the milk: warm it to 35°C (95°F), stir in the starter, cover and keep in the ger at 20–25°C (70–75°F). Stir it hard twice a day with a wooden paddle for 3–4 days until it is thick, sharply sour and slightly fizzing, roughly 2–3 percent alcohol.
2. Set the cauldron of soured milk over a low dung or wood fire, stand the collecting bowl on its low stand clear of the liquid, and drop the wooden cylinder onto the cauldron rim.
3. Seal the cauldron-to-cylinder joint with a rope of dough or wet felt, then set the pan of cold water on top of the cylinder and seal that joint too. No steam should escape anywhere.
4. Bring the milk to 80–90°C (175–195°F) only, never to a rolling boil. It should steam and murmur; boiling scorches the curd and carries harsh flavours over.
5. The vapour rises, condenses on the cold underside of the water pan and drips into the bowl below. Keep the fire low and steady for 2–3 hours.
6. Change the water in the top pan every 15–20 minutes as soon as it feels warm; a lukewarm condenser is the main reason a batch runs weak and cloudy.
7. Stop when the drips slow to less than one per second, usually after you have collected about a tenth of the volume you started with. The spirit is milky-white, 12–20 percent alcohol and smells of warm yoghurt.
8. Lift the bowl out with a cloth. What is left in the cauldron is not waste: press and dry it in the sun as aaruul curd.
9. Serve it warm in small bowls, offered and received with the right hand supported at the elbow, with a flick of the first drops upward as an offering before anyone drinks.

Technique

• This is a low-strength pot distillation, closer to a single-run soju than to vodka. Redistilling the collected spirit a second time gives arkhi of 30–40 percent, called shimiin arkhi khoyor davkhar.
• Milk fat and casein carry over as an emulsion, which is why the spirit is cloudy and why it tastes soft and slightly sweet rather than fiery.
• Home distilling is illegal in many countries and unsupervised stills are a fire and pressure risk. Never seal a still without a vapour path out, and never distil over an open flame indoors.
• Airag, the fermented mare’s milk, is the ceremonial base in horse country; cow and yak milk are used everywhere else and give a milder spirit.

Substitutions

• No raw milk or starter: use 6 litres whole pasteurised milk with 300 ml live plain yoghurt, and expect a cleaner but less complex ferment.
• A stainless alembic or a stockpot with a domed lid inverted over a bowl works on the same principle; keep the lid iced and the heat under 90°C (195°F).
• If you cannot distil at all, drink the ferment itself as khoormog, sour and lightly alcoholic, which is how much of it is consumed anyway.

Variations

• Airagny arkhi, distilled from fermented mare’s milk, prized in Arkhangai and Bulgan.
• Double- and triple-distilled arkhi, kept for Tsagaan Sar and for honoured guests.
• Commercial grain vodkas sold under the arkhi name are a different drink entirely.

History

Thirteenth-century envoys to the Mongol court described distilling fermented mare’s milk; families still run airag through a wooden still set over the stove.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shimiin Arkhi?

Shimiin Arkhi is a wine & spirit from Mongolia: cloudy milk vodka distilled at home from fermented airag, mild but warming. Thirteenth-century envoys to the Mongol court described distilling fermented mare’s milk; families still run airag through a wooden still set over the stove.

How long does Shimiin Arkhi take to make?

Shimiin Arkhi takes 30 min of preparation and 4 days fermenting plus 3 hr distilling of cooking. The recipe makes about 700 ml (6–8 small bowls) from 6 litres of milk. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Shimiin Arkhi?

Yes, within limits. No raw milk or starter: use 6 litres whole pasteurised milk with 300 ml live plain yoghurt, and expect a cleaner but less complex ferment. A stainless alembic or a stockpot with a domed lid inverted over a bowl works on the same principle; keep the lid iced and the heat under 90°C (195°F). If you cannot distil at all, drink the ferment itself as khoormog, sour and lightly alcoholic, which is how much of it is consumed anyway.

What is the most important thing to get right in Shimiin Arkhi?

Bring the milk to 80–90°C (175–195°F) only, never to a rolling boil. It should steam and murmur; boiling scorches the curd and carries harsh flavours over.