During Abraham Kunze's lifetime The traditional recipe was created in 1752 by , an
apothecary living in Riga. In 1762, Kunze published an advertisement for the balsam in the December 23rd issue of the newspaper, describing its purported healing properties and instructions for use and offering it in flasks, cruses and bottles of an unspecified volume sealed with wax with his initials (A.K.) pressed in them for a price of two state
thalers for a
shtof. According to a legend, Empress
Catherine the Great was heading back to
Russia and stopped in
Riga for a few day respite. Shortly upon arrival, she fell very ill and Kunze was asked to step in after the empress's personal
doctor proved helpless. The balsam's success in curing Catherine the Great provided it with popularity throughout
Europe and Kunze with exclusive rights to produce the balsam for the next 50 years. In 1774, "to increase the health of society" Riga authorities granted the production rights of Kuzensky Balsam to carpenter Martin Roslau who "had had the opportunity to learn the composition of the said balsam from Abraham Kunze". Martin Roslau produced it until his death in 1783, after which it was continued by his only daughter Maria Jadwiga and a year later also by her new husband Cristop Strizky. Because of that, the sales of the balsam rose sharply and in some cities of the Russian Empire it was started to be consumed as a strong vodka. In 1804, the factory of Yegor Leluchin, the son and heir of Semyon Leluchin, employed six workers and one apprentice producing 9,200 shtofs of the balsam, of which 4,200 were sold abroad, while the remaining 5,000 were stored for the next year. In the 19th century, Riga Black Balsam had become a national drink and by the mid-19th century was already produced by factories in Riga,
Liepāja,
Bauska,
Talsi and
Ventspils. In either 1845 or 1847, Wolfschmidt, the biggest and best-known producer of Riga Black Balsam in the 19th century, began its operations. It continued the production of Riga Black Balsam even after Latvia declared its independence in 1918.
The loss and restoration of the recipe The original recipe was lost in 1939 after its last keepers, the Schrader brothers, repatriated to Germany. The recipe was carefully restored in 1950 through a collective effort of the factory's employees, with the technologist Maiga Podračniece playing an essential role in the restoration, During the
Latvian SSR there was a deficit of Riga Black Balsam, which became a valuable souvenir and gift that was sometimes even regifted. In the 1970s, a 300-gram bottle of the 45-proof Riga Black Balsam with an iron
stopper cost 9
Rbls 10
kop "inclusive of the cost of the container", while a similar bottle with a cork stopper sealed with wax cost 10 Rbls 90 kop.
Modern variations of the Riga Black Balsam In 2019, a new version of Riga Black Balsam was released mixing the original balsam extract with Arabica coffee bean and
cinnamon extract. 2020 saw the launch of two limited edition versions – Riga Black Balsam XO blended with an 8 year old French
brandy, and Riga Black Balsam Chocolate & Mint. == In Denmark ==