Sweet Bread Cocktail
The holidays are behind us, along with the short break we took at The Cocktail Balance Journal.
The festive atmosphere slowly fades away, the last pots of sauerkraut soup are being washed, and the final spoonfuls of mayonnaise salad are disappearing from the fridge.
The next Christmas will arrive—in roughly 355 days from the time this article was written.
So the question is:
why should we only allow ourselves a Christmas feeling once a year?
#photobychrzi
Not Every Festive Idea Has to Be Extreme
No, this is not a recipe for a Negroni flavored with fried schnitzel, nor an Old Cuban topped with potato salad espuma.
Although, admittedly, that could be an interesting conversation.
There is, however, another symbol of Christmas—far quieter, more humble, and perhaps precisely because of that, much more powerful. A symbol most of us associate with childhood, early mornings before school, and a sense of calm we rarely experience today.
A mug of hot cocoa.
Oggy and the Cockroaches playing on TV.
And in your hand, a soft, buttery pastry with jam, studded with raisins or almonds.
Vianočka.
Vianočka as a Flavor Memory
Vianočka is a traditional Central European sweet braided bread, similar to brioche or challah. Rich in butter, eggs, and sugar, it is soft, aromatic, and lightly sweet—often flavored with vanilla, raisins, or almonds. Vianočka originates from Central Europe—particularly present-day Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, and southern Germany.
In Slovakia, it was traditionally baked mainly for Christmas, though it also appeared at important family celebrations.
Originally, it was not an everyday pastry.
Quite the opposite—it symbolized abundance, prosperity, and festivity. It contained ingredients that were once considered luxurious: butter, eggs, sugar, often almonds or raisins.
Today, you can find vianočka in supermarkets all year round.
Yet its flavor remains unchanged—it instantly triggers a memory. And that is exactly why it works so well in a cocktail.
When Vianočka Goes Through an Enzymatic Transformation
The foundation of the Sweet Bread cocktail is an enzyme-based vianočka syrup.
This is not blended pastry nor a sweet bread infusion. It is a controlled process in which the starch contained in the bread is converted into simple sugars.
Two enzymes are used:
Amylase, which breaks starch down into smaller sugars
Glucosidäse, which further converts these sugars into sweet, soluble molecules
The result is a clear syrup that tastes like vianočka but has none of its texture.
No flouriness, no cloudiness—just a gentle, comforting sweetness with a subtle bread-like character.
It’s exactly the kind of ingredient guests can’t immediately identify, yet feel strangely familiar with.
Recipe: Vianočka Enzyme Syrup
Ingredients:
500 g vianočka, cut into pieces
1000 g water
2 g ground cardamom
2 g vanilla sugar
1 g salt
10 g amylase
10 g glucosidäse
Sugar (to sweeten after straining)
Method:
Place the vianočka and spices into a container, add the enzymes, and pour over the water.
Blend thoroughly to ensure the enzymes are evenly distributed.
Transfer the mixture into a sous-vide bag and let it work at 61 °C for 3–5 hours.
Afterwards, strain through a cloth. Strain the liquid once more to achieve maximum clarity.
Add sugar in a 1:1 ratio by weight of the strained liquid.
The result is a stable, clear syrup with the unmistakable flavor of vianočka.
Rum as a Bridge Between Tradition and Technique
We paired the vianočka syrup with Opthimus rum from the Dominican Republic.
Its naturally sweet profile, with notes of caramel, cocoa, and gentle oak, makes it an ideal partner for the enzyme-based syrup.
In the cocktail, Opthimus does not dominate—it supports.
It brings together the sweetness of vianočka, fruity notes, and bitterness into a smooth, cohesive whole.
Recipe: Sweet Bread Cocktail
Ingredients:
40 ml Opthimus rum
20 ml Amaro Poli
25 ml fresh cloudy pear juice
15 ml lemon juice
15 ml vianočka enzyme syrup
0.75 g saline solution
Technique: Shake
Glass: Collins
Garnish: Apple Tarte Tatin
The drink is fresh, balanced, and layered. The sweetness of vianočka never becomes dominant; instead, it forms a subtle backdrop that holds the entire cocktail together.
Sweet Bread is not a nostalgic trick nor a seasonal gimmick.
It is a demonstration of how modern bartending can work with emotion, tradition, and technique at the same time.
And best of all—you no longer have to wait for amylase and glucoamylase the way people once queued for mandarins in front of Tuzex.
You can simply order them from our e-shop.
