 | |
| Type | Liqueur |
|---|---|
| Origin | Bulgaria orSerbia[note 1] |
| Alcohol by volume | 40+ vol-% |
| Flavour | various fruits, incl. grape, plum, peach, apricot |
Rakia,rakija,rakiya, orrachiu (/ˈrɑːkiə,ˈræ-,rəˈkiːə/), is the collective term for fruit spirits orfruit brandy popular in theBalkans. The alcohol content of rakia is normally 40%ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger (typically 50–80%).[3]
Rakia is produced from fermented and distilled fruits, typicallyplums and grapes, but alsoapricots,pears,cherries orraspberries.[4] Other fruits less commonly used arepeaches,apples,figs,blackberries, andquince. Common flavours arešljivovica andțuică, produced fromplums,[5]kaysieva/kajsija, produced fromapricots, orgrozdova/lozova in Bulgaria,raki rrushi in Albania,lozovača/komovica in Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina all produced from grapes.[6][7]
Plum and grape rakia are sometimes mixed with other ingredients, such as herbs, honey, sour cherries and walnuts, after distillation.[4]
Raki (Albaniandefinite form:rakia) (a type of rakia) is a traditional drink inAlbania.[8][9] Until the 19th century,meyhanes would servewine ormeze.[10]
.jpg)
Bulgaria cites an old piece of pottery from the 14th century in which the wordrakiya (Bulgarian:ракия) is inscribed. The inscription on it reads: “I have celebrated with rakia.”[2] The country has taken measures to declare the drink as a national drink in theEuropean Union to allow lower excise duty domestically but has yet yielded no concrete results.[11] During an archaeological study, Bulgarian archaeologists discovered an 11th-century fragment of a distillation vessel used for the production of rakiya. Due to the age of the fragment, contradicting the idea that rakiya production only began in the 16th century, historians believe this indicates that rakiya did originally come fromBulgaria.[1] The EU recognizes 12 brands of Bulgarian rakiya through the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) marks, which protect the name of products from a specific region that follow a traditional production process.[12]
.jpg)
Rakija is the most popularspirit inCroatia.[13] Travarica (herbal rakija) is usually served at the beginning of the meal, together with dried figs. The Croatian Adriatic coast is known for a great variety of herbal rakija, some typical for only one island or group of islands.[14] The islandHvar is famous for rakija with the addition ofMyrtus (mrtina—bitter and dark brown). Southern islands, such asKorčula, and the city ofDubrovnik are famous for rakija withanise (aniseta), and in centralDalmatia the most popular rakija is rakija with walnuts (orahovica). It's usually homemade, and served with dry cookies or dried figs. In the summer, it's very typical to see huge glass jars of rakija with nuts steeping in the liquid on every balcony, because the process requires the exposure of orahovica to the sun. In the northern Adriatic—mainlyIstria—rakija is typically made ofhoney (medica) ormistletoe (biska). Biska, which is yellow-brown and sweet, is a typical liquor of Istria. In the interior of the country a spirit calledšljivovica (shlivovitza) is made from plums, and one called viljamovka (viliam-ovka) is made fromWilliams pears.Croatia has EU Protected Geographical Indication of 6 rakija products (Zadarski maraschino, Hrvatska travarica, Hrvatski pelinkovac, Hrvatska stara šljivovica, Slavonska šljivovica and Hrvatska loza).[12]
InGreece, the most popular traditional Cretan spirit is known astsikoudia (Greek:τσικουδιά). On the mainland, a similar spirit calledtsipouro (Greek:τσίπουρο) is prevalent.[15] Both tsikoudia and tsipouro are informally referred to asraki due to the Ottoman-era nomenclature whenraki was a generic term describing distilled liquors, a term which informally remains in use today.
Cretan tsikoudia is apomace brandy made by single distilling grapes after most of their juice has been extracted to produce wine and having left them to ferment in barrels. Special permits are given from late October until the end of November to produce tsikoudia at home in Cretan villages. Unlike tsipouro, tsikoudia is not twice distilled and does not contain anise. It is commonly served cold as anapéritif with seafood andmeze, usually referred to asrakomezedes, or as a complimentary digestif withspoon sweets or fruit after a meal.[citation needed]
Tsikoudia is an integral element of the island’s culture, identified by many as "the national drink ofCrete" and linked to hospitality.[16]
Rakija (Serbian Cyrillic:Ракија) is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks inSerbia.[17] It is the national drink of Serbia.[18][19][20] The first legal and official rakija distillery, Bojkovčanka, was established in 1985 about 10 miles south ofBelgrade.[21] According to Dragan Đurić, President of the Association of Producers of Natural Spirits, the EU protects the names of beverages by allowing the prefixSerbian.[17] In Serbia there are 10,000 private producers of rakija. Two thousand are on the official register and only about a hundred cellars produce high-quality spirit.[17] The most popular rakijas in Serbia are: "sljivovica"-it is made from plum, apricot rakija and pear rakija. Belgrade is the site of a Rakija museum.[22] A 14th century Serbian source is the earliest confirmation of Rakija-making.[2]
Rakiya (not to be confused with similarly named, but entirely different,rakı[23]) is also consumed in Turkey, but is far less popular than other distilled spirits or wine.
At the end of the Orthodox Christianburial service, at the exit from the cemetery, visitors are offered a piece ofsoda bread (pogača) and a glass of rakia.[24] When drinking "for the soul" of the deceased, one spills some rakia on the ground, saying "May God receive this for her/him", before drinking the rest.[24]
It is also used as a sacramental element by theBektashi Order,[25] andAleviJem ceremonies, where it is not considered alcoholic and is referred to as "dem".[26]
There are many kinds of rakia, depending on the fruit it is produced from:
| Fruits | Bulgaria | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia | Greece | Albania and Kosovo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic types | ||||
| plum (slivovitz) | сливова (slivova) сливовица (slivovitsa) | šljivovica, шљивовица, шливка, сливка | Κουμπλόρακο (Ρακί κορόμηλου) / Raki koromilou | Raki Kumbulle |
| grapes | гроздова (grozdova) гроздовица (grozdovitsa) мускатова (muskatova) | лозова (lozova), lozovača/loza, лозова ракија/лозовача/лоза | Σταφυλόρακη (ρακί σταφυλής) / raki stafylis | Raki Rrushi |
| grapepomace (kom)[1] | джиброва (dzhibrova) джибровица (dzhibrovitsa) шльокавица (shlyokavitsa) | komovica, комова ракија/комовица | Τσίπουρο-Τσικουδιά (ρακί στεμφύλων σταφυλής) / tsipouro-tsikoudia (raki stemfylon stafylis) | Raki Bërsi |
| apricot | кайсиева (kaysieva) | mareličarka, kajsijevača, кајсијевача | Ρακί βερίκοκου / raki verikokou | Raki Kajsie |
| peach | прасковена (praskovena) | rakija od breskve, ракија од брескве, breskavica | Ρακί ροδάκινου / raki rodakinou | Raki Pjeshke |
| pear | крушoва (krushova) | kruškovača/vilijamovka, крушковача/виљамовка, крушка | Ρακί αχλαδιού / raki achladiou | Raki Dardhe |
| apple | ябълкова (yabalkova) | jabukovača, јабуковача | Ρακί μήλου / raki milou | Raki Molle |
| mulberry | черничева (chernicheva) црница (tsrnitsa) | dudova rakija/dudovača/dudara, дудова ракија/дудовача/дудара | Ρακί απο σκάμνια, ρακί μούρων / raki apo skamnia, raki mouron | Raki Mëni |
| quince | дюлева (dyuleva) | dunjevača, дуњевача | Ρακί κυδωνιού / raki kydoniou | Raki Ftoji |
| fig | смокинова (smokinova) | smokovača, смоквача | Συκόρακη, Ρακί σύκου / Sykoraki, Raki sykou | Raki fiku |
| cherry | черешова (chereshova) | trešnjevača | Ρακί κερασιού / raki kerasiou | Raki qershie |
| mixed fruits | плодова (plodova) | — | Ρακί φρούτων / raki frouton | — |
| withsour cherries | вишновка (vishnovka) | višnjevac/višnjevača, вишњевача | Βυσνόρακι, Ρακί βύσσινου / Visnoraki, raki vyssinou | Raki Vishnje |
| With additions | ||||
| withroses | гюлова (gyulova) | ružica | — | — |
| withherbs | билкова (bilkova) | travarica, траварица/trava | — | — |
| withbilberries | — | borovnička, боровничка | — | Raki Boronice |
| withjuniper | klekovača, клековача | — | Raki Dëllinje | |
| withhoney[2] | медена (medena) | medenica, medovača, medica, medenjača, zamedljana (very popular inIstria—a region inCroatia), медовача/medovača, medovice | Ρακόμελο / rakomelo | Raki e Pjekur |
| withanise | анасонлийка (anasonliyka) | mastika, мастика | Τσίπουρο με γλυκάνισο / tsipouro me glykaniso | — |
