Tag Archives: rakija

Terra Incognita: Byzantian Blue Slivovitz

From time to time I like to draw your attention to some pearls that we find, and the pearls were not promoted enough. Terra incognita. One of them is Byzantian Blue Slivovitz, a masterpiece of plum brandy aged for 12 years.

Suppliers and producers of brandy in Serbia are sometimes too eloquent, too suggestive, too loud. I deal with commercial business people every day, and so far I’ve learned to distract very few facts that can be interesting to us, and not to pay attention to a whole bunch of needless information that they use to impress you. This is the instrument of my self-deffence, developed over decades in commercial business.

What attracted my attention at Byzantian Blue Plum Brandy was- silence. No self advertising, no aggression, no „if-you-buy-1000000-we-shall…“…Nothing of it. The product obviously was supposed to speak for itself. When I met a guy, Zoran Skerlic, the owner and the bearer of the family business of Skerlic Distillery, he just confirmed my intuition.

The Byzantian Blue Slivovitz was designed very ambitiously, but also discretely as well. No one asked about its name. And name itself discovers a lot. Master Byzantian painters managed to gain a special tone of blue that was used for icons and monastery and church frescoes. The tone is known as „Byzantian Blue“ nowadays. It is very stable and long-lasting colour that expresses the sky, the divine, the unreachable, the calmness, the commitment and the meekness. Can you imagine what this brandy is like now?

Being distilled of two types of prunes, „Cacanska rodna“ and „Cacanska lepotica“, these two fractions are left in oak to age for 5 years separately. That way each one of them develops the spcial attributes of its variete. After that, they are blended in certain ratio and left for another 7 years to age together. Why? No idea. I just believe Zoran knows what he is doing. And he is a master.

Just as a message and the appearance of this Slivovitz is complex, so as the Slivovitz itself. A notes of coffee, vanilla, vinegar and roses splash your palate at the same time. You can’t drink it too fast, but slowly, you must feel every step it makes in your body: from nose, through mouth and palate, through esophagus all the way down to your stomach. And there you feel the erruption: after few moments you feel warmth is spreading all over your body, your veins pulsating, heart accelerates. Just like Zoran said: „We make the brandy that warms the body“.

Byzantian Blue gained a Grand Gold Medal at the Novi sad Fair 2010 (avg. 18.73 points). And it’s apricot sister Harmony is even better, so say the people that tasted it. Apricot Brandy Harmony won the name „Champion of the Gold Medal group“ at the Slivovitz of Sumadija contest in Kragujevac in 2018.

Well done, Zoran. Just keep going. And we’ll support you.

Rakija u korist zdravlja

Lek za čoveka

Čitajući naslov mogli biste da pomislite da je u pitanju još jedan sarkastičan tekst, ali to nije istina. Rakija, ukoliko se koristi umereno, može zapravo prilično da Vam poboljša zdravlje, kao i neka druga alkoholna pića, kao što su pivo ili najčešće crveno vino.

Možda deluje čudno ako niste odrasli na Balkanu, ali u ovom predelu se pijenje jedne rakije dnevno smatra zdravom navikom. Pitate se sigurno sad, kako jedno žestoko alkoholno piće kao što je rakija može da vam poboljša zdravlje.

1) Rakija je bogata antioksidansima

Činjenica je da je piće sačinjeno od različitih vrsta voća i da može zadržati, iako ne mnogo, njegove osnovne osobine, jedna od njih je veliki broj antioksidanata. Ovi molekuli koji prudužuju život pomažu sprečavanju oštećenja ćelija i na taj način usporavaju proces starenja i dobijanja bolesti povezanim sa starošću.

2) Lek protiv stresa

Može se reći da je efekat koji alkohol ima,poznat već hiljadama godina i da je to jedan od razloga zašto je alkohol i dan danas popularan.

Da li je to čaša vina uz večeru ili izlazak u pab, alkohol pomaže ljudima da se opuste. Ovaj efekat je izrazito dobar u borbi protiv današnjeg najvećeg neprijatelja -stresa.

Stres izaziva ispuštanje hormona kortizola, koji ima veliki broj negativnih posledica od visokog krvnog pritiska do srčanih oboljenja, tako da nije iznenađenje da čašica rakije dnevno može da smiri živce i smanji dnevnu dozu stresa.

3) Smanjuje rizik od kardiovaskularnih oboljenja

Istraživanja su pokazala da alkohol, kada se koristi umereno, može da smanji upale sa unutrašnje strane krvnih sudova  kao i da smanji višak holesterola što dovodi i do smanjenja opasnosti od srčanog udara, visokog krvog pritika i infarkta.

Čitajući ovaj članak možda ste pomislili da je rakija jedna od najboljih stvari na svetu, što nije daleko od istine, ali ne smete zaboraviti da se ove posledice na zdravlje ispoljavaju samo ako pijete u umerenim količinama.

Dakle, uživajte i bez preterivanja!

Koja hrana ide sa sljivovicom

Starost rakije

Umesto spremanja posebnog jela za određenu rakiju, jednostavniji pristup je odabrati savršenu rakiju za jelo pred vama. Ovaj odabir se uglavnom svodi na starost Šljivovice koju pijete, jer kako stari ona menja svoju aromu i odgovara nekim jelima bolje nego drugim.

Rakija koja je odstojala u hrastovom buretu manje od tri godine će biti savršena za poslužiti uz meze. Jak i oštar ukus će Vam brzo otvoriti apetit za glavnim jelom posebno uz domaću pršutu,slaninu i beli sir koji se često služi kao meze pred glavno jelo u Srbiji. Jedna čašica i vaše čulo ukusa će biti naoštreno.

Glavno Jelo

Naravno dobra rakija se može poslužiti uz jelo svake nacionalne kuhinje na svetu ako se dobro razumete u hranu i još važnije u rakiju, ali predlažemo da za početak probate prvo provereno dobre kombinacije koje idu uz ovo tradicionalno piće.

Za glavno jelo je idealni izbor rakija srednje starosti, do sedam godina stara. Ona najbolje ide uz snažna jela poput ribe sa roštilja, crvenog mesa i jela sa dosta sosa. Paprikaš i gulaš idu odlično uz specifičnu aromu koju poprimi rakija ove starosti od hrastovog bureta.

Naravno većina nas nema pun podrum rakije savršene starosti, tako da je pametno planirati unapred i ovu rakiju poslužiti na slavi i drugim porodičnim okupljanjima.

Dezert

Verovali ili ne mnoge vrste dezerta, posebno domaćih, idu odlično uz rakiju, naravno uz poslasticu bi idealno bilo poslužiti i najbolju rakiju koju imate. Rakije koje su čekale savršeni povod deset i više godina idu savršeno uz štrudlu od maka, višnje ili oraha kao i uz većinu tradicionalnih srpskih kolača. Šljivovica može da zameni i skoro svaki alkohol koji se koristi u receptima kolača poput ruma ili konjaka.  Bilo da je u kolaču ili poslužena uporedu uz neku domaću poslasticu, kombinacija dezerta i rakije starije od deset godina neće ostaviti nikoga ravnodušnim i garantovano će ostati svim gostima u sećanju a i u pričama do kraja života.

Rakijski Bonton

Kad biste upitali nekog kako se pije rakija, vrlo je verovatno da biste kao odgovor dobili ‚,na eks“ ali to zapravo i nije baš najbolji način za ispijanje ovog pića,  barem ne kada je kvalitetna rakija u pitanju.

Verovali ili ne dobra rakija može da se pije čak i iz čaša za vino, tako da je sasvim moguće da je običaj ispijanja rakije na eks i to iz malih čašica potekao iz doba kada se nije proizvodilo puno dobre rakije jer bi veća čaša i sporije ispijanje brzo otkrilo pravi kvalitet samo već po intenzitetu mirisa koji bi se osetio iz tako veće čaše.

Bitno je zapamtiti da bi rakija trebala uvek da ima miris voća od koga se pravi i sama jačina te arome ne bi trebala da bude ništa slabija ni jača od svežeg ploda, ako je jača možete da budete sigurni da je piću dodata veštačka aroma.

Rakija, kao i slična žestoka pića, bi trebalo da se pije sporo kako bi mogli da je osetite svim vašim čulima. Još jedna česta zabluda, ali i trik kojima se koriste mnogi ugostitelji je posluživanje ledene rakije, to je samo još jedan način da se zamaskira ukus neke lošije rakije.

Dobar način kojim možete da utvrdite kvalitet rakije je da je sipate u veću čašu i blago zavrtite, kao što biste to uradili sa čašom vina. Starija i kvalitetnija rakija bi trebalo da ostavi male tragove po obodu čaše u obliku kapljica, često se ti tragovi nazivaju suzama.

Ti tragovi ostaju samo na starijim rakijama zato što su provele godine u burićima od hrasta i poprimile malo dodatne materije koja ih čini gustijom nego obično, mada ni to čak nije sigurna metoda jer se može reprodukovati dodavanjem glicerina u rakiju.

Postoje mnogi trikovi koji se koriste kako bi se prikrio loš kvalitet rakije, tako da kada zapravo pijete pravu, kvalitetnu rakiju, sipajte je u veću čašu, pomirišite i osetite tu prirodnu aromu, uzmite prvo jedan spori gutljaj kako biste osetili pun ukus i onda samo uživajte!

Schnaps und Rakija – irgendetwas gemeinsam?

Jemals gehört von Rakija oder Rakia? Oder Arak? Oder Grappa? Oder Mastika? Oder Slibowitz? Oder Schnaps?

Einige meinen, Rakia stammt aus dem Arabischen Araq oder Arak, was Wein bedeutet. Es wurde im Nahen Osten für alle schnaps_kaufenArten von Spirituosen verwendet, die aus Trauben und Wein destilliert wurden. Die Türkische Eroberung des Balkans brachte neue Bedeutungen: alle Spirituosen mit hohem Alkoholanteil wurden Rakia genannt. Oder Rakija in der slawischen Version.

Da die Balkanhalbinsel reich ist an aromatischen Früchten, wahrscheinlich die aromatischsten in der ganzen Welt, wurde Rakia eine gebräuchliche Bezeichnung für Spirituosen, die aus Früchten destilliert werden. Also, Grappa ist eine Art Schnaps aus Trauben, hauptsächlich in Kroatien – Dalmatien und Italien geschätzt.  Slivovitz oder Sliwovice oder Slivovica oder Sljivovica ist Brand aus Pflaumen (gemeinsamer slawischer Name, šljiva = Pflaume) destilliert und er ist klar und wird vor allem in slawischen Ländern geschätzt.

Warum nennen wir es in der englischen Version heutzutage Brandy? Sie haben nur sehr wenige Gemeinsamkeiten. Wenn es ein bisschen süß und gelb ist, kann es sehr ähnlich wie Brandy sein. Gelbbraune Farbe eines Obstbrands kommt durch sein Eichenfass: wenn der Schnaps wenigstens ein paar Monate in einem Fass gealtert wird, wird er glatt und abgestimmt.

Die Art von Schnaps auf dem Bild wurde in Barriquefässern gealtert und sie sind wahrscheinlich am ähnlichsten zu Brandy im üblichen Sinne.

 

Walter, Djokovic and Rakija: How Chinese Recognize Serbia

We are happy that our Chinese friends found their stars in the personality of our famous actor Bata Zivojinovic, as well as Novak Djokovic. I think Djokovic has notlost  even one of his games in China, said Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic recently during the visit of Chinese Prime Minister Keqiang to Serbia.

The Beijing reporters asked Serbian Prime Minister what were Serbian plans for country’s promotion in China, since the country is already known for Walter (Defending Sarajevo) and Djokovic. He responded:

“The Chinese surroundings and climate are very normal for Djokovic. I believe Serbia will suit it as well”.

buy grape brandy

The Prime Minister Keqiang said Serbian Grape Brandy is also known and appreciated in China, besides Walter and Novak.

“It is becoming better as it is older. I certainly hope Serbian-Chinese realtionships will look alike”, said Keqiang.

 

Meet Serbia through Slivovitz: Kostunici

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9ncndW1582w

Slivovitz brought us to Eco village Kostunici, pictoresque village in Central Part of Serbia. We wanted to see the spot where a very good plum brandy “General” is crafted. Apart from Slivovitz, we found a new world.

Eco village (or Ethno village) represents a hotel-under-the-sky, full household that incorporates restaurant, lodging in apartments and ‘vayats’, production of fruit, domestic- made slivovitz (plum brandy) and jams. A guest can feel the spirit of 19-century Serbia, eat the old dishes, and drink remarkable slivovitz.

Sumadija region is famous for its plum, mostly “Pozegaca” and “Cacanska rana” varietes. Pozegaca is very aromative and delicious, but complicated to grow and sensitive to various illnesses. But brings the best slivovitz!

slivovitzOld dishes in crockery

Plum brandy Slivovitz “General” is dedicated to the memory of victorius Serbian General of the World War I Zivojin Misic, whose mother originates from Kostunici.

Very tastefull old Serbian dishes served in crockery and “vayats” made the strongest impression on us. What is “vayat”?

A separated small house, bungallow that was used for the guest’s lodging. These vayats are equipped with old furniture, recalling the old country life and customs. So, you have your own home within a village.

slivoviceVayat

Boiled Slivovitz or Sumadija Tea

Sumadijski caj

Boiled Slivovitz

Ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups rakija and 3 cups water

Directions:  pour the sugar into a medium stainless-steel pot and watch carefully. Once it turns brown, remove it from the heat with great care, stand back and pour in the rakija and water. The sugar will harden and some of the liquid may explode out of the pot, so be careful! Return the pot to the heat and watch until it comes to a boil and the sugar has melted completely. Serve hot or warm.

Most people prefer to drink rakia heated during the cold winter months. The recipe is simple but it has to be done in a precise way to get the distinct flavours and also requires constant attention.

Rakija? What’s this?

Barrique Plum Brandy

Barrique Plum Brandy in a Barrel

 

R a k i j a  is the Serbian name given to an alcoholic drink made from the distillation of fermented fruit. Rakija can be made out of almost any fruit, and each fruit has its own specific rakija name. Rakia recipes are centuries old and every rakija maker has his own variety and secret ingredients. You can find rakija recipes that contain anise, herbs, honey, walnuts, mint, sour cherries, etc. Each type of rakija has its own subtle and particular taste lying just beneath the initial strong flavor. Slivovica (plum rakija) is the most popular, as well as the cheapest and strongest. Good rakija has a strong taste first, followed by a subtle fruity flavor. Rakija is served in shot glasses but you do not need to drink it all in one sip. The first sip is the most important. Before taking this initial taste, exhale deeply, and then take a quick sip directly down your throat right to the stomach. Now take in a long breath through your nose. You should feel the burning in your chest, not in your throat. Try to distinguish the fruity flavor that appears gradually. Rakia is generally served with serbian salad, shopska salad, pickled vegetables (trushiya), serbian cream cheese (kajmak) or any other salads (depending on the season). This combination forms the first course of the meal.  Wine or beer is served with the rest of the meal. If a drop of rakia is spilled while pouring, it is said “that’s for the deceased.”  After a funeral a toast of rakia is made and a little is spilled on the ground for the soul of the departed.

Double- distilled “Stara rakija”