Tag Archives: slivovitz

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!

Why Is Slivovitz Considered A Noble Brandy?

Slivovitz or Slivovica or Sliwowitz or Sljivovica is a common name for plum brandy. „Sliva“ is a Slavic name for plum. Good Slivovitz is made of the plums of various species that were femented for 3 weeks before the distillation. So the alcohol that we dring in a Slivovitz is actually crafted from ripe fermented fruit. Unlike other spirits like Gin, Vodka or even Whiskey, Slivovitz or Plum Brandy originates from fruit and bears all the advantages and disadvantages of fruity origin. The main disadvatage is its price, because usually 10 kg of ripe fruit is needed to craft 1 litre of Slivovitz. So it cannot be any cheaper.

But advtanages are numerous on the other hand.

COMPLEXITY. As every beverage made from fruit, like wine, its aroma and content is not simple nor dymensional. Fruit is a very vivid raw material and, if not burned down, its aroma, fragrance, colour (and destiny) must be granted to its brandy. It is complex enough that each year a slightly different slivovitz is made from the same orchards and fruits.

AFTERSMELL. When you have a sip, the fragrance is retained on your palate for a long time. Unlike simple artificial spirits, you feel its complexity on your palate. And after a while, you feel it is your stomach.

AGING. As Slivovitz is made of fruit containing tannins in its skin, its first sign on your palate can be harsh. Some people, especially those who have it for the first time and are not prepared to it, even said it was burning. The effect of harshness is lost over time, if Slivovitz is aged in an oak barrels for 3-5 years, and sometimes even longer. This is the reason why aged Slivovitz is appreciated.

BARREL. Every alcoholic beverage, if not artificial, is colourless when it is produced. So as Slivovitz. The colourless and hot liquid Slivovitz flows from the distillation pot. Its tawny and amber colour is gained over time, due to the contact with the oak barrel. Lately the producers use barrique oak barrels volume of 225 l. Then its colour is more beautiful and its aroma is more complex.

DENSITY. Hot liquid from the distillation pot is poured into the barrels and is left to age for years. It is gaining density over time. Some people say it reminds of oil after few years. You can judge its density on the glass: the tears must show up if it was aged properly.

What Makes Good Slivovitz a Good Slivovitz?

Like with any other liquor, there is a philosophy behind the quality of some slivovitz. Some speculate about the making process, some about the maturation, but I think we can all agree that each segment matters. The critics on the other side, have their own points of view, like characteristics, specs, and categories on which they are rating the drink. When it comes to slivovitz, I think there are a few foundations that have to be obeyed in order to get a quality product.

Fruits Not Sugar

By this, I don’t mean sweetness of the products, but the quality of the fermentation. In order to enhance the alcohol level and reduce the expenses, some producers add sugar to their batches. First of all, this kills the good fruit sugar, secondly, it ruins the natural taste of the drink. If you want a good slivovitz it has to be made strictly from homegrown, handpicked fruit.

Color

This doesn’t count for the drinks that are supposed to be transparent, like one’s that are made from grapes, for example. But, again, these see-through drinks should have some density instead. Colored slivovitz should have that nice amber, or golden shade with a nice garland of bubbles when shaken steady.

Aroma

Depending on the type of slivovitz, the aroma on the cork and one rising from the bottle should match the smell of the fruit that the drink was made of. Also, it’s ok to feel a light scent of wood or smoke in it. This confirms a proper maturation inside of a wooden barrel.

Taste

Probably the most important factor when it comes to slivovitz. The balance between alcohol, and the original fruit taste should be perfect. If any wages over, we can’t say this is a quality spirit. Some producers reach out for additives to enrich the taste of their product. If the taste is too intense, we are talking about artificial taste coloring.

AS Group

There are many different ways to express bravery, and one of my favorite is stepping into the unknown. I really like

when people enter the caves no one has ever entered before, or dive in the underground lakes, or change their current profession for another, the one they dreamed of, but never had a chance to actually try it.

That’s why I admire the man who stands behind AS Group, Goran Stosovic, who took several steps many other people wouldn’t dare. First of all, from a small village called Igros, he dared to go to Chicago, where he successfully founded the construction company. Most of people who work abroad never return home, and here is another incredible step he took: many years later, he returns home, so that he can invest in the winemaking. In 2004, he founded AS Group, a company which produces brandy. Now, when people start their agricultural work of any kind, they usually look how to find their place in the local market, among people they know better… Of course, since he already lived in America, he had some idea of how American market is functioning, but still, his next step, to export his products to America was quite impressive!

His example proved that:”America isn’t a boogeyman,” as he likes to say.

Did you know?

While the company is called AS Group, the actual name for brandies is Imperian. So, if you’re searching for their alcoholic beverages, you need to search for Imperian Plum, Imperian Pear, Imperian Raspberry, Imperian Quince, Imperian Loza, Imperian Slivovitz and Imperian Klekovaca. Each beverage has a luxurious package, with an interesting slogan that says:”From Serbia With Love.”

Must say, the slogan reminds me of a Bond movie, “From Russia with love,” and I’m not sure if it’s

something like stealing the idea, or is it simply based on the love Mr Stosovic feels toward his motherland, to which he returned when he realized he can help her anyhow.Of course, we should recall, that stated how he really loves the process of creation of the brandy, all the way from the beginning, which means the collection of the fruit. Indeed, all fruit is gathered in an area close to his village, where the air is clear, as well as the earth and water.

Ecological factor is very important when it comes to production of the quality brandy. And, while we all hope that the area with such clean fruit won’t be disturbed, we also need to hope that there will be enough people to work on plantages, and in a distillery, so that we can never run of this liquid gold.

Rubin- A Common Name For Cognac

There are many lessons we all learn while we are young, but, one extremely important lesson we learn when it’s already too late. Of course, I’m talking about not-mixing-the-different-types-of-alcohol! Thank God, I learned that lesson by watching my friends, and not by experiencing the agony on my own. Sure, I was sorry to see them suffer, but, they were already warned by some other people, and they didn’t listen.

It happened that one of the drinks those poor souls had, was Vinjak produced by Rubin. And, while many agreed that it’s their favorite drink, it turned out that it’s so not a good idea to drink wine, vodka, or beer alongside with it. Back then I thought:”Wow, this thing requires loyalty!” But, now I know it’s the same with all alcoholic drinks.

Some guys said that it has nothing to do with the mixing, but that the product of Rubin is simply twisted, but I have to disagree on that. After all, Rubin worked for 60 years, and vineyards nearby Krusevac, where it’s built, are well-known by its quality. There were years, during the sanctions, when everything was falling down, as well as the quality of Rubin’s drinks, however, those times are behind us all, and Rubin keeps winning the prizes, and it’s welcomed on new markets.

Did you know?

The very Vinjak, one of the most popular drinks in Serbia, and the main name linked to Rubin, entered the French market. Andre Steiner, the owner of the Distillery de La Tour, stated that Vinjak deserves a place among top 5 best brandies on the planet. He stated that Vinjak satisfies very high standards, but that it needs better distributors and marketing campaign.

Also, even though the local people are used to the old package of Vinjak, he stated that Asian market requires fancy package, rather than traditional, simple one. He stated that American market requires a good background story of the product, and that European market requires an acceptable price. Two of the three requirements were already there, so all Rubin had to do is to give their product a new, fancier suit. And, they did quite well. As far as I can say it looks simple and luxurious, classic and traditional.

These were good news, not just for Rubin, but for all the people who enjoy Vinjak, and who always claimed that it’s the best brandy in the world. Of course, when you support a local product, you might not be able to judge objectively. Finally, we will hear what the entire world has to say.

Vino Zupa, A Cellar and A Distillery

Vino Zupa Pots

There are a few companies who managed to rebuild themselves after their transition from government to the private sector. And, I’m so glad that Vino Zupa is one of them. The company that produces not just wine, as it’s stated in the name (vino=wine), but also many other alcoholic beverages, and tasty juices.

Its incredible journey starts in 1956, when nine worker cooperatives joined their forces in Zupa, after WWII. In the entire country, it was the period of hard work, and getting everything back on its feet. It is very funny that the section for fruit juices started on the first of April, 1962, which was a pretty serious step for the day that is considered for a day of jokes.

Wine Fair in Zupa Aleksandrovac

Of course, the crisis in 1990, inflicted Vino Zupa as well as any other company, and unfortunately, the company wasn’t able to rebuild itself on its own, so it ended up in the hands of the man who was ready to bring back the good, old days of the company. In 2002, the new chapter of the story was opened, like the rainbow after the rain.

Year after year, the company grows bigger, presenting new products, hiring new people, improving the quality, entering the new markets.

Did you know?

Production of the wine was popular in Zupa, long before the company was formed. There is a manifestation, called “Zupska berba,” meaning “grape harvest in Zupa,” and recent everyone’s favorite part of the manifestation included free wine tasting. It went even further, with the wine fountain where people could grab as much as they wanted, or as much as they could handle.

Personally, I never encourage the second option, but some people often end up with that one. And, it’s not very hard to end up with it, considering the old saying of the vineyard workers: “The best wine is the one that is cold, there is plenty of it, and it’s free.” This definition for sure is very rough, but the people who had a lot of good time, seem to be OK with it.

However, even that one wasn’t the greatest alcoholic attraction this area had to offer. The greatest wine attraction was, and still is, the giant cistern, whose capacity of 5.600.000 liters contains the best wine there is. Of course, there is also the Museum of wineries and vineyards, but it’s only for those nostalgic or curious people, who wish to look back, at the past.

Simex- Young But Well Known Brandy Distillery

Simex from Subotica is one of young distilleries, and as such, has no long history to talk about.

However, the quality of their product is well-known, and therefore, Simex is one of the most frequent names in the fancy restaurants in Serbia. It still hasn’t found its way to the wide open world, but, on the local level, the company proved itself. At Agronomic fair in Novi Sad, it received both gold and silver medal for two different types of rakia. Besides the recognition regarding the quality of the drinks, it also received recognition for the design of the packages.

However, even though there are many good results of their work, there is something that causes the trouble and nightmares to all the people working in Simex. For some reason, groups of forgers decided to create and sell fake packages of this company. They would produce it in an uncontrolled environment, and sell on the local green market. The loss of the company was not only based on the price of the drinks they didn’t really sell, but also based on all of the bottles people refused to buy in the future, fearing for their health. And all those losses were enormous.

On the other hand, there are sources who claim that the entire story regarding the forgery is nothing but a trick to gain the media attention. Well, there is no such thing as “the bad marketing,” right? But there is a huge difference between a product and a pop star. Or, at least, I hope so.

Did you know?

Simex Slivovitz has the name Brka, which means “A man with a mustache.” And, if you take a look at the gentleman on the package, he indeed has a mustache, following the fashion of ancestors. Some said that it’s a younger version of the man who can be seen on the old packages of Jagodinsko Beer, and as such, a copy. It’s quite incredible how people can find a way to argue about just anything.

Not so long ago it was discussed in the Chamber of Commerce, how the companies should act toward the design options. Besides the all the trouble regarding the copy/paste moments, they also thought how the package needs to show from which part of the Serbia it came. The next problem that came out was the fact that every distillery gets their plums from everywhere where there is a healthy fruit.