Bulgaria and Serbia both claim rakia, and each points to medieval evidence
Rakia is the Balkans' fruit brandy, usually bottled at 40 per cent alcohol, though homemade batches can reach 80. Who invented it is a matter of national pride. Bulgaria cites an eleventh-century still fragment and a fourteenth-century cup; Serbia counters with its own fourteenth-century record of rakija-making.
The drink is distilled from fermented fruit, most often plums and grapes, but apricots, pears, cherries, raspberries, quince and figs all get used. Plum versions go by names such as sljivovica or, in Romania, tuica; grape versions have a different name in almost every country. After distilling, some producers steep in herbs, honey, sour cherries or walnuts.
Bulgaria's case rests on archaeology. A piece of pottery from the fourteenth century carries the word rakiya and a line that translates as I have celebrated with rakia, and archaeologists have found part of an eleventh-century distilling vessel, which undercuts the idea that production only began in the sixteenth century. The European Union protects twelve Bulgarian rakiya names. Serbia calls rakija its national drink, has a museum devoted to it in Belgrade, and counts around 10,000 private producers, of whom about two thousand are registered and perhaps a hundred make top-quality spirit. Its first licensed distillery, Bojkovcanka, only opened in 1985.
Croatia's coast turns the spirit into a regional map. Hvar adds myrtle for a bitter dark brandy, Korcula and Dubrovnik favour anise, and central Dalmatia makes orahovica, walnuts steeped in huge jars left on balconies in the summer sun. Istria prefers honey or mistletoe. Herbal travarica traditionally opens a meal with dried figs. On Crete the local equivalent, tsikoudia, is a single-distilled grape pomace spirit without anise, and villagers get special permits from late October to the end of November to make it at home. Greeks still loosely call it raki, an Ottoman-era label for any distilled liquor. Turkey's aniseed raki is an entirely different drink.
Rakia also carries ritual weight. At Orthodox funerals, mourners leaving the cemetery are offered bread and a glass, and spill a little on the ground for the soul of the dead before drinking. In Bektashi and Alevi ceremonies it is used sacramentally, called dem, and not regarded as alcohol.
Source: Rakia
