Onboard Diary

Yuri's Achilles heel: The 'blue star'

One of the things we've been lucky to look up in the Sputnik Foundation catalogue      -one of our main bibliography sources- is the wonderful book Drei tage mit Yuri   ('Three days with Yuri'), by Hans Von Kubert; which was recently published again by the foundation as an audiobook.

 

One of the best stories told by the journalist of Die Zeit -among the first people to speak with Yuri Gagarin after he landed on the steppe- is the fact that during the three day journey to Star City the hero would stop, whenever it was possible to escape the strict protocol, to visit the local bars and order a drink called 'Blue Star' ('Golubaia Strelka').

The author reflects on this drink's mystery with a couple of random facts: It seems that this was a drink created by and for pilots during the Liberation War, and it was served while the last veterans kept ordering it, still in the 80s, in some bars in Moscow. It's a mystery how Gagarin came across this drink, but the thing is he liked it.

Von Kubert describes the concoction as 'smelling and tasting like Vodka, but with the sweet touch of Kvas (...) without the usual 'high' caused by vodka and with an interesting purple colour which resembles that of Mors, the traditional beetroot soup... even though it's called 'blue' (...) '...something which was difficult to find in the steppe, thousands of kilometres away from NY cocktail lounges. It wouldn't be out of place served with a cherry in the most chic place of the Big Apple. And I think I could have a few in one night, although I never drink much alcohol'-pointed the German journalist. 

Et voilà!

We have recreated it for you.

Guided by this description, we bring you a drink with a vodka flavour, perfect for those who enjoy something strong... with all its other ingredients giving harmony to its flavour, making it a bit sweet, ideal for those people who may not drink a lot ot alcohol.

Our secret formula?

We'll give to you at the party :-)