Tag Archives: sljivovica

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!

Prokupac

One of the most well-known products of Prokupac distillery is Manastirka Slivovitz.

My mother still keeps the old package of Manastirka Slivovitz, made by Prokupac distillery. I remember, when I was a kid, I would always grab it, and pretend to be an adult, but a pretty drunken one. I would start talking nonsense and my sister would laugh at it. Some may say that it’s not how kids should play, but on the other hand, it seems as a way better option than sitting in front of the computer.

The story of Prokupac begins over half of the century ago, in 1955. For all this time, the factory managed to produce almost 270 million liters of beverage, and as such, became the biggest factory of alcoholic beverages on Balkan. It really makes me sad to see that after all the success this factory had, and after all the medals and prizes it won, it ended up fighting to survive, in the new, grim days.

Not so long ago, Prokupac was supposed to be joined with another company, but instead of better work with a joined forces, all that happened was the other company acting like a parasite. Business, contracts and politics almost destroyed the well-known producer of excellent drinks.

Did you know?

One of the most well-known products of Prokupac distillery is Manastirka Slivovitz. Besides being a tasty drink, Manastirka was often used and a healing potion. I don’t know what would doctors say, perhaps they wouldn’t agree on this, but my grandmother would use it whenever I catch a cold. In order to bring down the temperature, she would perform a massage over my hands and feet with the Manastirka. Some say that any alcoholic beverage would do the trick, but this one has been often in our home, so it had the main role in everything: healing, drinking, cheering…

Some say that the recipe for this drink was invented centuries ago, perhaps even by St. Sava himself, but those are just stories without actual proof. However, it is most likely that its production started in monasteries, as the name suggests (manastir=monastery).

Even today, during the whole struggle Prokupac has to deal with, Manastirka is welcomed in every home. I’ve seen lately on the online auctions, that people are ready to give over 2000e for a 30-year old bottle of Manastirka. Considering the fact that the crisis is still present in this part of the world, we can assume that it remained popular and that people haven’t forgotten its old glory.

Kleka BB Bajina Basta

It’s incredible how many people forget how powerful they really are. I guess that’s why many always look for any sort of authority, to tell them what to do, because they’re unsure of what their next move should be. The proper move, I mean. As if nobody dares to make a mistake, to take a risk.

It might be because TV and newspapers taught us that everyone will always hear about the mistakes, rather than the good things we do. Let’s change it, shall we? Sit back, and relax, and enjoy some nice story.

Once upon a time, there was the worker cooperative in Bajina Basta, which started the production of a very special brandy

back in 1955. BB Klekovaca was the name of a brandy that was made of juniper that grows on Tara, the nearby mountain. The brandy soon became popular and spread around. It lasted for a while, before the privatization in 2006. During the process, it was decided to separate one section, the brandy production, from the rest of the worker cooperative. And, it was a good move, because there were five hard working men, who decided to save the production of the famous brandy. They paid the rent for production area and equipment, and worked for several months without any profit (the production takes time, because brandy needs to remain in barrels for at least a year).

Workers fought for the factory, and they won.

Did you know?

The oldest Klekovaca that still has its place in the fabric is the one that was made in 1968. Next to it, there is a glass balloon that contains 50 liters of Klekovaca from 1972. It’s one of the favorite attractions for all who visit the factory.

The heroes of our story knew that their move might be a little too risky, considering that it required a lot of investment, during the times in which such steps weren’t recommended, considering the local economy. But, since they knew what they are fighting for, they knew it’s worth it. They claim how they don’t like the idea of ordering a drink in a tavern, without knowing how the drink was made. Their slogan explains it all:”With knowledge in tavern.”

They also knew that what was once very popular sure can be easily sold (okay, they couldn’t “know” this; it’s more as if they had a reason to have faith). During the “golden years” or the cooperative, over 250000 liters were produced every year.

NAVIP Slivovitz Serbian Plum Brandy

Many of us have not heard of NAVIP , but recognize the picture of the bottle:

Well, that is the famous plum brandy from company“ NAVIP“ Zemun near Belgrade, NAVIP Slivovitz Serbian Plum Brandy is probably one of the most famous plum brandies in the world. Did you know it is no longer distilled? It’s a long story. Let’s get started …

Name

We believe today that NAVIP name is an abbreviation of “People’s wines and beverages“ (NArodna VIna i Pića) . It was founded as a farmer’s cooperative to which many of grape and fruit producers were selling their products and wines and spirits were produced out of it. The beverages were meant for the masses of consumers. Since the very beginning of the NAVIP, it was focused on massive desitillation of the large quantities of beverages of the acceptable quality. As many socialist Yugoslav enterprises.

Emergence

1848. At the spot of Zemun NAVIP today, vineyards were grown and a large cellar was bulit.Wines and spirits were exported to Austrian and German cities. Later on the plant began producing a sparkling wine (we used to call it “champagne”) called Million. It was drunk by many Yugoslavs during New Year’s Eve.

1897.In avillage Crkvenac in Resava was established agricultural cooperative. It was later merged with the cooperative company in Zemun and our famous schnapps from the beginning of the text was distilled.

1911. In a village Jovce near Jagodina was founded the cellar, which was later merged with the company from Zemun .

In 1960. a plant in Petrovaradin, near Novi Sad was founded and vineyards were grown. The most famous product was Karlovački Riesling, wine of low quality usually packaged in bottles of 1 liter, which is often found on the tables of many Yugoslavs .

And NAVIP? When it was founded ?

NAVIP was established after the World War II by decree of the socialist authorities of Yugoslavia. Bruno Moser, who founded the winery in Zemun and his descendants , Germans by nationality, were nationalized all their property and NAVIP was established out of it. When in 1848. Moser founded his cellar, he never dreamed it would become the foundation of one of the largest wineries and distilleries in Eastern Europe. As if history is correcting the injustice made to the Mosers, so their name is still mentioned as the founders of the giant.

The pearl of Crkvenac

Product of NAVIP that is most interesting to us is the famous Šljivovica brandy in a round bottomed flask of 0.7 l, which wasa dear guest on many tables of America, Australia and Europe. It was being destilled of fruits from the orchards of Crkvenac and many other orchards from Central Serbia. Lately, more than 200,000 bottles of the brandy were exported. It could not be bought in Serbia, all available quantities were exported, it was one of our recognized brand names .

The cellar , though being the pearl of our brandy exports, was closed down 2011.

NAVIP Slivovitz 8 YEARS OLD – NAVIP Slivovitz Serbian Plum Brandy is distilled out of the spectacular variety of plum called Pozegaca , prized for its exceptional content of extract and flavor enhanced. Yellow -golden color, soft, rounded taste and aroma overwhelming. 100 proof, 0.7 l, round glass flask

NAVIP Slivovitz – cheaper variety, aged for three years . Some of us even like brandy that is less aged . Had a lot of fans and loyal consumers .

NAVIP Slivovitz 5 years old Top – quality plum brandy distilled sort of plum Pozegaca by special technological treatment . After natural fermentatiton of pitted plum , only the liquid prart of fermented mass is distilled . Yielding three fractions of distillate . All three fractions are blended, together aging in oak barrels .

Bardaklija – 1 – liter distilled Slivovitz from Pozegaca plum variety, aged for 2-3 years . Well known for the grandfather on its label , it was considered as ” Grandfather ‘s Drink ” .

TODAY

NAVIP egsists no longer. It was swallowed by bad privatization , as well as most of the Serbian industry . Western consumers cannot enjoy its brandies and wines today . We strongly hope some new Bruno Moser will appear on the historic scene , who will have the vision and courage to build some new NAVIP. The orchards still exist , and consumers who have not changed their minds …

Jews and Slivovitz- Kosher

Jews from Eastern Europe have adopted the slivovitz as their national alcoholic beverage. This factor, supported by huge Eastern European immigration in the 20th century, was crucial to spreading the voice of fruit spirits around the world. Without them plum brandy would be confined to its local boundaries.

The unfortunate people of the Old Testament , making God sad and angry with them, was often persecuted in its history. They found refuge in Europe, Asia and Russia, and later in the New World. In a new homeland they were accepting local customs, food, drinks, jealously guarding their own from their homeland. As if they were trying to keep a link with their fatherland.

In Eastern Europe they found brandy fruits, usually plum brandy, famous Šljivovica for the Serbs , Croats, Slovenes , Montenegrins ; сливова ракия for Bulgarians ; Ţuică in Romania; pálinka for Hungarians ; slivovica the Slovaks ; slivovice the Czechs ; Śliwowica for Poles . From what we know today, the Jews quickly received plum brandy: they began distilling alcohol from fruit that was available to them. Of course, two centuries ago it was not so easy to buy fruit that does not grow in your area and to distill a beverage out of it . They were forced to make brandy. And they liked it, I suppose.

Thus, it is mentioned that Salamon Montiljo founded in Travnik one of the biggest plum brandy distilleries in the region. In Vojvodina, they were leasing the distilleries: it was noted that Moises and Flash from Selenca near Sombor were paying rent of 105 florins a year for the use of the distillery, Joseph Salmon 65 florins for the distillery in Deronje near Apatin and Jozef Hersl 170 forints in Kulpin. Jews quickly showed their sense of business that they had to develop under unfavorable conditions.

Emigration after World War I and World War II took them to America, Australia and Israel. The qoung generations were drinking slivovitz together with their fathers and they were spreading the word about it. Plum brandy, pear brandy , cherry brandy and other fruit brandies with their specific taste, odor and clarity were easily making their way to the non Jewish consumers.

Today they consider it a Kosher beverage and this means they adopted it as their own drink. This is our another link to them.

I wonder if they drink it in Israel today?

Whiskey vs. brandy

Brandy means fruit brandy, in Eastern European manner. Probably the most popular sort is Plum Brandy or Slivovitz(slivovica, šljivovica, etc, from Slavic “šljiva” meaning plum).

So, ever wondered should you choose whiskey or fruit brandy? I didn’t. All until I saw my Eastern neighbors not even having a dilemma: they always take slivovica.

1. Fruit brandy bears the playfulness and liveliness from fermented fruit. Whiskey bears sophisticated aroma derived from excellent process of distillation.

2. Fruit brandy should not have artificial aroma or colour: its tawny yellow colour should originate from oak barrel that the brandy matured in. Whiskey normally has artificial caramel colour (it brings a lot of headache if you take few glasses over the red line).

3. Whiskey should be consumed in the evening, it brings calmness and elegance. Fruit brandy, because of captured fruit in the bottle, should be taken during the day, as an appetizer before meals, to keep the body alive and fresh.

Brandy and Rakija – anything in common?

Ever heard of rakija or rakia? Or arak? Or grappa? Or mastika? Or slivovitz? Or brandy?

Some say rakia is derived from Arabic araq or arak, meaning wine. It was used in the Middle East for all sorts of spirits destilled from grapes and wine. Turkish conquering of the Balkans brought new meanings: all spirits with high percentage of alcohol were named rakia. Or rakija in Slavic version.

Since Balkan peninsula is rich in aromatic fruit, probably most aromatic in the whole world, rakia became a common name for spirit distilled from fruit. So, grappa is a kind of brandy distilled from grape, mostly appreciated in Croatia – Dalmatia and Italy. Slivovitz or slivovice or slivovica or sljivovica is brandy distilled from plum (common Slavonic name, sljiva = plum) and it is appreciated and praised mostly in Slavic countries.

Why do we call it brandy in English version nowadays? They have very few similarities. If it is a bit sweet and yellow, it can be very similar to brandy. Tawny yellow color is granted to fruit brandy by its oak barrel: if the brandy is aged in a barrel for at least couple of months, it becomes smooth and harmonized.

The kind of a brandy on the picture was aged in barrique barrels and is probably most similar to brandy in its common meaning.