POLINKA FRUIT COMPOTES FROM ARMENIA: The drink with fruit in it.

The term “compote” means different things to different people. To some, it is a cooked fruit. To others, in Eastern Europe, Armenians in particular, it means a fruit based drink, a water and fruit drink where the fruit is cooked with water, then other fresh fruit pieces are added to the liquid to give more flavor. We tried POLINKA COMPOTE, a new Armenian “Compote” and it is really delicious. Especially attractive are the Quince, Sour Cherry, and the Apricot and Sour Cherry blend. These are to be served very chilled and can be doctored with alcohol such as vodka or white rum to make a cocktail drink, or served very well chilled, with a splash of fizzy water, they can be enjoyed just as they are. Part of the pleasure of the compote is enjoying the liquid with some of the fruit in the bottle. The fresh fruit added to the bottle gives the compotes added flavor and zip. (Be careful with the cherries: They have pits!) With warm weather here,5these should make a welcome distraction from “sodas.” The bottles are all liter size and once opened will disappear very quickly.