I was given a bottle of this stuff by my Czech BIL-opened it last night. The stuff is awful-burns and has a nasty taste to it.
Which is strange, because a good brandy or armagnac is usually smooth and has a nice flavor.
What is it about brandy made from plums-is it poor distillation?
Or is it a reduced ageing period (ageing tends to smoothen raw spirits)?
If you want some, I’ll leave it on the curb for you!
Aging, unless your BiL gave you a cheap bottle. I like slivovitz personally. I also like grappa, which can also be rather raw.
Both of these products utilize not just the fruit but the stems, pits, vine and other parts that normally get thrown away.
Both were created by people of frugality, and, over many years, became part of the culture such that, it’s not really entirely about the flavour so much.
Yes, this isn’t cigars-and-fireplaces brandy as enjoyed by the gentry. This is the country people’s white lightnin’. Compare to Italian grappa, French pastis, Turkish raki.
A slightly classed-up, more flavored but still clear and unsweet, version is eau-de-vie, such as German Kirschwasser or French eau-de-poire.
I have, unfortunately, partaken in rakia far, far, far more times than I would have liked. (Slivovetz is the plum version of rakia; grozdovetz is the grape version.) I hates it, my pretties. Traditional rakia is made by people in their cellars and then forced upon unsuspecting Americans who are just trying to be polite. It’s not made with any kind of finesse or particular skill.
Factory-produced rakia is not something with which I have as much experience, but I suspect it imitates the domashna (homemade) as much as possible, and is aimed at people who’ve moved to the city and no longer have a cellar in which to make their own rakia.
Incidentally, it is illegal for individuals to make their own rakia (and other hard liquors too, I expect) within the European Union. This is probably the least obeyed law in the EU.
Elbows is almost entirely right. Slivovitz is made using the entire plum, including the pits. Plum pits, like apricot kernels, contains amygdalin - a cyanide precursor. This is a significant part of the harsh bite that a true slivovitz has. The other factors are components of the plum skin, and - of course - the high proof. Twigs and leaves do end up in the must, but only because they aren’t cleaned prior to fermentation.
The reason that homemade slivo tends to have a greater ‘pit bite’ is due to the practice of delaying distillation long past the end of fermentation. This allows more amygdalin to leach out of the pits.
I went to a slivovitz tasting a couple of years ago here in Minnesota. The people there are fanatical about collecting it. Some of the stuff is very smooth, but it tends to be expensive.
Doug
Moved MPSIMS --> Cafe Society.
For me being of a Czech bloodline on both sides of my family .
Father a immigrant of and my mothers mother and father also are from the old country I was brought up to love slivo .
Personally I do understand why the original poster didn’t like the taste .
Most likely he’s not of the heritage .
My father when I was very young and he being in his prime back in the 1970s used to make it on our stove in a still he learned how to make when he was young in Europe . It was fun to watch the process of how it is distilled .
You must re distill it a few times to get the best quality . The 1st time over it does’nt have any alcohol content . He called it dirty water . It looked like a foggy water . One time he made a batch that was way to strong . It was 199 proof . 1 point under pure alcohol . Couldnt be consumed but he did pour into out 1976 Oldsmobile and believe it or not that car ran fine on it !! I have had many great times taking shots of slivo most of it was brought back from Czech made by friends of his . Those damn Northern Europeans sure know how to drink and have a grand ole time …
I remember the first time I tried kirsch, thinking it was going to taste like cherries. Really poor assumption on my part. Also, German schnapps is not even remotely similar to what Americans think schnapps tastes like.
Oh, yeah. Schnapps over here is thick, sweet pepperminty swill. Real schnapps is completely different. Ditto akvavit.
(I know this is a slightly zombie post.)
I LOVE slivovitz and have drunk more than my fair share of it. I volunteered for a spell near the Croatian-Bosnian border and there was a lot of home distilling going on. During market days, one could go and sample all the different homemade slivovitz for free, before deciding on your purchase.
There’s good slivovitz (which tastes like the essence of plums) and bad slivovitz (which tastes like plum-flavored dirt mixed with cheap rubbing alcohol.) It is an acquired taste. Good slivovitz starts with cleaned plums with no leaves or stems. Pits can be left in or removed depending on if you like the taste (the pitless ones taste smoother.) Good slivovitz is 100% fruit brandy. It is distilled from the fermented fruit must and not cut with neutral spirits. Bad slivovitz has aromas, flavorings, and neutral spirits added to it. One test for determining the general quality of fruit brandies (which slivovitz is) is to rub some of it on your wrist, wait a few seconds to let it evaporate, and smell it. It should smell like the pure essence of plums.
But, like I said, it may just not be for you. Fruit brandies tend to be love-it or hate-it.
We used to do shots of an evil drink in Prague called Becherovka (or something very similar). It smelled like cloves and anise and packed a big punch.
Cripes, Wiki has everything, doesn’t it?
You can find Becherovka around the US, too–at least I’ve never had problems finding it here in Chicago. (Supposedly, there was a period of time where they were in between distributors, and its importation was tied up with the ATF, but I’ve never noticed it being off the shelves.) It runs a bit syruppy sweet for my tastes, but it’s a nice winter drink. Reminds me of Christmas with the clove, cinnamon, ginger and sweetness. It’s actually slightly less alcoholic than your standard hard liquor, weighing in at 76 proof. Also goes well with apple juice.
I have always brought back a couple of fifths of Becherovka with me, as I have never seen it for sale anywhere in the USA, although I haven’t ever been too serious about looking for it.
A couple of years ago I was flying back from Prague on CZA (the national Czech Airline) and they were selling bottles of it right on the plane, duty-free, for around 5 bucks.
It’s probably my favorite shooting liquor, and I have been shot many times over the years.
Interesting. They have it all around here. You can even find it in some bars, but Chicago is chock full of people from that part of the world, so it may depend on your locality. Looking online, they sell it at BevMo out in California and Arizona, so it’s not just the Midwest that stocks it or anything.
Here in Utah, liquor stores are all state-owned and operated, and they all have identical stock, so it’s not like some would carry it but others would not.
That said, I am flying down to New Orleans next week, so I will be sure to keep an eye out for it.
I really, REALLY enjoy the stuff, and if I can find it, I will certainly bring a couple of bottles home with me…
I would say you can get it mail-order, but I assume Utah is one of those states that doesn’t allow it.
I will actually be breaking a state law (Class B misdemeanor, which in theory could get you locked up for a year) by bringing alcohol home with me—No alcohol is legally allowed in Utah that was not purchased here, even if you have been traveling abroad.
This is a law that I delight in breaking every mollyfocking chance I get, on principle.
Sweet? Really? Maybe that’s the stuff they export, as my recollection of it was more bitter.
The Becherovka I’ve had here tastes the same as the Becherovka I’ve had there. There is a bitter component to it, yes, but it’s fairly sweet to my tastes–there’s definitely a good deal of simple syrup or possibly honey in it. It’s not at the level of something like SoCo, but it’s positively sugary compared to something like slivovitz. When you smack your lips after drinking it, you can feel the sugar stickiness.
This description here is exactly how I would describe it:
ETA: Interestingly, that article notes that it’s “return[ing] to the US” in April 2011, so I guess this is a timely discussion. As I said before, I realize that there was apparently some distribution problem, but I didn’t realize it was this recent.