Mahia Nahmias et Fils: Drink – and eat – to your health!
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Dorit and David Nahmias, distillers extraordinaire, of Mahia and Rye Whisky at Nahmias et Fils: their Mahia is fabulous! It doesn’t hurt one bit that they are both so lovely. They even gave me and my friend Chaim Szmidt a grand tour of their distillery in the Bronx: Impressive! The famous Sephardi fig- and anise – scented liquor (Mahia and Eau de Vie both aptly mean “water of life”) is recreated here as subtler and smoother, subtle and smooth enough even for beginners palates, to drink and eat! I am so pleased to see how our American friends take to the magical drink: What’s not to like? Remember Zorba the Greek, feasting on Mahia’s Cousin Ouzo?
I’ve been tinkering with Mahia and its wondrous possibilities:
And I must tell you: I am loving it! And so are my willing tasting victims. Not only as a drink, mind you, but indeed as a star ingredient in a few dishes both savory and sweet, and the results were spectacular.
You will love the way the delicious liquor is equally at home as a drink and as an enhancement to great recipes. It is so intense that I feel perfectly comfortable making the dishes super simple, as I have the complete backing of the unique favor and fragrance of Mahia. That’s the magic of great seasonings!
Here are just four delicious dishes I have expressly created for Mahia Nahmias et Fils to start with. Stay tuned for more! I am thinking of naughty and dreamy edible adventures: Chocolate truffles; galettes; cocktail drinks; a custard of some sort; crepes; bouillabaisse; a meat or chicken marinade; a lemonade. I think I’ll stop now….
The beautiful pictures were taken by Meir Pliskin
