Various bottles of Slivovitz
Slivovitz or Sliwowitz (English pronunciation: /ˈslɪvәvɪts/; Bosnian: šljìvovica, Croatian: šljìvovica, pronounced [ʃʎǐvɔvitsa]; Czech: slivovice, Polish: śliwowica, Slovak: slivovica, Slovene: slivovka, Serbian: Шљивовица šljivovica) is a distilled beverage made from Damson plums.[1] It is frequently called plum brandy[2] and is part of the category of drinks called rakia.
Origin
The word slivovitz derives from the Slavic stem "slivka/sliva" - plum.[citation needed] The exact origins of slivovitz are unknown and it is believed to have been first produced in the Balkans,[3] Bosnia, Croatia,[4][5] Serbia,[6][7] Moravia,[8][9] Czechoslovakia,[10] Hungary[10] or Bulgaria.[10]
Production and consumption
Slivovitz is primarily produced in Slavic regions of Central and Eastern Europe, both commercially as well as by many households on an informal, homemade basis. Primary producing nations include Serbia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bosnia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia..[11] It is most popularly consumed in those nations, as well as wherever communities of expatriate from these nations exist. Similar plum brandies are also produced in Switzerland, France, the United States, and Canada, but marketed under other names, such as brandy, Pflümli, or eau de vie.
Distilling process
In the manufacturing process, the plums and a liberal proportion of the ground kernels are first crushed and pressed, then starch and sugar are added to the juice and the mixture is allowed to ferment. Distillation gives the crude product, and clarifying processes complete the liqueur, but aging is required to develop its finer qualities. Its pleasing flavor is due largely to the plum kernels, which contain a considerable percentage of amygdalin, the characteristic component of bitter almonds.[1]
Some producers have obtained a Hechsher for their slivovitz, certifying that it is kosher.[12]
Imitation slivovitz is made by flavoring spirits with prune juice and artificial oil of bitter almonds.[1]
Fermentation and distillation in Moravia, Czech Republic
Collecting the plums is a family event, when the plums are ripe, the plum tree branches are shaken vigorously causing the plums to drop to the ground. These are collected taken home and put in various barrels, these days usually plastic.
The plums are not crushed, just put as they were picked into the barrels, sometimes squeezed gently, but crushing of kernels is avoided. To produce the best brew nothing else is added to the barrel. Fermentation is natural and continues for a couple of months producing a heady rich mash of fermented fruit.
The next stage is to take the mash to the local distillery, at some time from November on. Some people distill at home, but this is illegal in some countries and can be dangerous as the result might contain methyl alcohol. Most villages in Moravia have their own distillery. In some countries, tax has to be paid on the amount of alcohol produced, but the tax rate is sometimes significantly lower than for commercial products.
The mash is usually distilled twice, firstly in a large vat, and then in a much smaller vat. Distilleries using single distillation with vigorous deflegmation also exist but are generally avoided, as their product is believed to be of worse quality. Traditionally the heating was done using wood, but nowadays natural gas is prevalent. The result is a colorless liquid which is usually watered down to give an alcohol content of around 51%. During the distilling season, distilleries run a non-stop operation almost 24 hours a day, villagers lining up with trailers full of barrels.
A good mash will give around 10% of its volume in finished spirit — perfectly pure, healthy spirit, with a distinct prune aroma, which has medical uses in the home as well as being an extremely potent drink.
Producers
Bulgaria
- Troyanska Slivova (owned by Rudolf Jelínek)[13]
- Tetevenska Slivova (owned by Rudolf Jelínek)[14]
- Lesidrenska Slivova[15]
- Elenska Slivova (owned by the Lyaskovets winery)[16]
Croatia
Czech Republic
Hungary
Italy
Poland
Serbia
Slovakia
- St. Nicolaus[31]
- S 52[32]
- Old Herold (Bošacka slivovica)[33]
Slovenia
United States
- Black Star Farms[35]
- Clear Creek Distillery[36]
- Peach Street Distillers[37]
- Stringer's Orchard[38]
In popular culture
Croatian Šljivovica and Slovenian Slivovka, two different names for the same drink
In the 1990 film Avalon it is mentioned as the only thing other than seltzer water that the patriarch of the family would drink after he emigrated to America.[39]
In Patricia Highsmith's Ripley Under Ground, her anti-hero, Tom Ripley, orders slivovitz in an Austrian café while visiting Salzburg, Austria.
The group Andra Generationen participated in the Swedish music contest Melodifestivalen 2008 with a song called "Kebabpizza Slivovitza."[40]
Slivovitz is offered to Jonathan Harker in Dracula.[41]
In Mart Crowley's play The Boys in the Band, slivovitz is used as an example of the banality of self indulgence. "Hate tequila, what about slivovitz? Tired of boys, what about girls? Or what about boys and girls mixed and in what combination?"[citation needed]
In the independent film Art School Confidential, Slivovitz is the drink of choice for one of the main character, Jerome's acquaintances, Jimmy, a psychotic has-been artist with sinister muses for his death-themed paintings. In the film, "Bardo" a friend of Jerome's takes him into the slums of the city to meet Jimmy, the landlord of a decrepit apartment complex. When Bardo initially asks Jimmy to allow them in, he gets no reply. It's only when Bardo pulls out a bottle of Slivovitz and bribes Jimmy with it that he allows them entrance.
References
- ^ a b c Ward, Artemas (1911). "Slivovitz". The Grocer's Encyclopedia. New York. pp. 567. http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/coldfusion/display.cfm?ID=ency&PageNum=575. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- ^ Haraksimová, Erna; Rita Mokrá and Dagmar Smrčinová (2006). "slivovica". Anglicko-slovenský a slovensko-anglický slovník. Praha: Ottovo nakladatelství. pp. 775. ISBN 80-7360-457-4.
- ^ Lennox, Doug (2003). "Food & Drink". Now you know. Toronto: Dundurn. pp. 102. ISBN 9781550026481. OCLC 52455722.
- ^ The World and its peoples: Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, Poland. New York: Greystone Press. 1965. pp. 33. LCCN 65-20542. OCLC 399998. "Slivovitz is a brandy made from plums which originated in Croatia."
- ^ Porter, Darwin; Danforth Prince (2005). Frommer's Vienna & the Danube Valley. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 230. ISBN 0764597175. OCLC 60397040 60649498. "Two of the most famous and favored liqueurs among Austrians are slivovitz (a plum brandy that originated in Croatia) and barack (made from apricots)."
- ^ Bruce, Dave (1980). "Dining Discoveries". Home & Away in Kentucky (American Automobile Association): 14. http://books.google.com/books?id=kwRgAAAAIAAJ&q=slivovitz+serbian&dq=slivovitz+serbian&lr=&pgis=1. Retrieved 2008-09-16. "To get things started, have a round or two of Slivovitz (Serbian plum brandy)...".
- ^ Branigan, James Joseph; Harold Reginald Jarrett (1975). "Serbia". The Mediterranean Lands. Michigan: Macdonald & Evans. ISBN 0-7121-1367-3. OCLC 60004517. [page needed]
- ^ Wilson, Neil (2005). Prague. Lonely Planet. pp. 16. ISBN 1-74059-758-3. OCLC 58434605. "The fiery and potent slivovice (plum brandy) is said to have originated in Moravia..."
- ^ Warren, Matt; Neal Bedford; Jane Rawson (2004). Czech & Slovak republics. Lonely Planet. pp. 65. ISBN 1-74104-046-9. OCLC 56466554. "Slivovice is a fiery, potent plum brandy said to have originated in Moravia..."
- ^ a b c Arthey, David; P. R. Ashurst (1996). Fruit processing. London: Blackie Academic & Professional. pp. 129. ISBN 0-7514-0039-4. OCLC 34116886. "Type: Slivovitz; Synonym: Plumb brandy; Country of origin: Former Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria"
- ^ Pokhlebkin, William (1992). "Appendix 5: The Raw Materials and Production Techniques of Other Principal Spirits of the World". A history of vodka. London: Verso Books. pp. 206. ISBN 0-86091-359-7. OCLC 28183139.
- ^ "Rudolf Jelínek: Kosher production". http://www.rjelinek.cz/kosher-vyroba.php?LANG=en. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
- ^ "Сливова ракия" (in Bulgarian). Винпром-Троян. http://www.vinprom-troyan.bg/page/produkty/7/. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ "Чехи купиха тетевенския винпром "Дестила"" (in Bulgarian). Дневник. http://www.dnevnik.bg/show/?storyid=279646. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ "Лесидренска сливова ракия" (in Bulgarian). Леседра. http://www.lesedra.hit.bg/lesidrenska-slivova-rakia.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ "Our high [sic] alcoholic drinks". Lyaskovets Winery. http://winery.lyaskovec.com/en/rakia.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
- ^ "Product range: spirits". Badel 1862. http://www.badel1862.hr/en_jap.asp. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "MARASKA ZADAR". Maraska Zadar. http://www.maraska.hr/. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- ^ "Company profile". Rudolf Jelínek. http://www.rjelinek.cz/profil-spolecnosti.php. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Slivovitz". Zufanek. http://www.zufanek.cz/en/slivovitz.html. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Slivovice". Bonfier. http://www.bonfier.cz. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ ""Sljivovica"". http://www.luxardo.it/splash_intro.aspx?language=en.
- ^ "Passover Slivovitz". Polmos Bielsko-Biała. http://www.polmos.bielsko.pl/en/passover.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Our products". Polmos Toruń. http://www.polmos.torun.pl/english/t5.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Flores". http://www.flores.co.yu/flores.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Stefan Nemanja Serbian slivovitz". MadeInSerbia.co.yu. http://www.madeinserbia.net/Products/Food_and_drinks/Spirits///STEFAN_NEMANJA-serbian_slivovitz/3660.html. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Navip products". http://www.navip.co.yu/izvoz/proizvodi.html. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Stara Sokolova". http://www.starasokolova.com/index_eng.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
- ^ "Zlatna Biserka". http://www.zlatna-biserka.com/. Retrieved 2009-06-10.
- ^ "Katz Rakije". http://www.katz-rakije.com/index.html. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ "Fruit Liquors". St. Nicolaus. http://www.st-nicolaus.sk/index.php?page_id=386&noitem%91%92=333&noitem%91%92=335&noitem%91%92=337. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Fruit Destilates". s52. http://www.s52.sk/. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
- ^ "Bošacka Slivovica". Old Herold. http://www.oldherold.sk/. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
- ^ "Fruit Liquors". Budič. http://www.budic.si/ostrilci/slivovka. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ "Spirit of Plum". Black Star Farms. http://www.blackstarfarms.com/winery/spirits/?id=161. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Additional Clear Creek Eaux de Vie". Clear Creek Distillery. http://clearcreekdistillery.com/other.html. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Jack and Jenny Plum Brandy". Peach Street Distillers. http://www.peachstreetdistillers.com/prod-plum-brandy.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Plum Brandy". Stringer's Orchard. http://www.stringersorchard.com/brandy.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Trivia for Avalon". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099073/trivia. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ Viniker, Barry (2007-12-11). "Melodifestivalen line-up complete". esctoday. http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/9855. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ Stoker, Bram (2007) [1897]. Dracula. Forgotten Books. pp. 11. ISBN 1-60506-003-8. "...the driver said in excellent German—'The night is chill, mein Herr, and my master the Count bade me take all care of you. There is a flask of slivovitz (the plum brandy of the country) underneath the seat, if you should require it.'"
- This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 edition of The Grocer's Encyclopedia.
External links
See also
