Slivovitz
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Slivovitz (IPA pronunciation: /slivovɪts/) (Serbian: шљивовица or šljivovica, Slovenian: slivovka, Croatian: šljivovica, Bosnian: šljivovica, Macedonian: сливовица (or сливова ракија); Polish: śliwowica /ˌsʲli.voˈvi.ca/; Romanian: şliboviţă; Bulgarian: сливова (slivova) or сливовица (slivovitsa); Slovak: slivovica; Czech: slivovice) is a strong, colourless alcoholic beverage primarily made of distilled fermented plum juice, though similarly to Irish poteen it is often home-distilled out of a variety of source materials, up to and including grass and other organic material. It is similar to brandy and sometimes called plum brandy in English. It is one of the liquors known in the Balkans as rakia.
The beverage originated in the Balkan Peninsula; the name derives from the Slavic word for a plum, šljiva or sliva. Production is concentrated in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, and to a lesser extent in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy and elsewhere.
It is the national drink of Serbia, and most of the Slavic Balkan states where about 70% of plum production (average 424,300 tonnes per year; FAO 1991–2001) goes into slivovitz.
The alcohol content can vary from 25-70% by volume, but most store-bought varieties are 40–45%.
Slivovitz, like some of the other rakias, is kept in wooden barrels (oak or mulberry) for an extra aroma and the colour (golden brownish).
Rakia is supposed to be drunk from special small glasses (0.3 to 0.5 dl). It is often drunk warm, sometimes even heated (sugar is caramelized in a pan before the rakia is added) for better effect.
See also
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