| Tuesday, January 22, 2008 |
| In Pop Culture |
| In the 1990 film Avalon its mentioned as the only thing that the patriarch of the family would drink after he emigrated to America. |
posted by Wine Addict @ 11:26 PM   |
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| Designation of origin |
| Following the claims of several nations to the protected designation of origin, in October 2007 the European Union went for a compromise solution, leaving "slivovitz" as a generic name, and granting individual nations the right to protect the origin with their own adjective. Thus, "Serbian Slivovitz" (Srpska šljivovica) will become Serbia's first certified national brand |
| posted by Wine Addict @ 11:26 PM |
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| Distillation 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.
Slivovitz, like some of the other rakias, is kept in wooden barrels (oak or mulberry) for an extra aroma and the colour (golden brownish). Commercial distillers may use oak chips, toasted oak chips, or mulberry chips when aging slivovitz in glass or stainless steel tanks for flavor or coloring.
The Slivovitz Festival sorts slivovitz into 3 major classes: aged in wood, aged in glass, and sweet. Sweet slivovitz is the result of maceration of fruit in the slivovitz after distillation. Plum Brandy is a variant of slivovitz produced by removing the plum pits prior to fermentation. This results in a loss of the characteristic 'pit bite' - the astringency contributed by the kernels - and a relatively blander product.
Imitation Slivovitz is made by flavoring spirits with prune juice and artificial oil of bitter almonds. |
| posted by Wine Addict @ 11:26 PM |
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| Various bottles of Slivovitz |
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| posted by Wine Addict @ 11:25 PM |
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| Croatian Sljivovica and Slovenian Slivovka, two different names for the same drink |
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| posted by Wine Addict @ 11:25 PM |
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| General Stuff |
Slivovitz is a strong, colourless alcoholic beverage primarily made of distilled fermented plum juice though, similar to Irish poteen, it is often home-distilled out of a variety of source materials, up to and including grass and other organic material. It is similar to brandy and sometimes called plum brandy in English and is one of the drinks known in the Balkans as rakia. The alcohol content can vary from 25-70% by volume, but most store-bought varieties are 40–45%.
It is the national drink of Serbia and made in most of the Slavic Balkan states, where about 70% of plum production (average 424,300 tonnes per year (FAO 1991–2001) goes into slivovitz. Export producers in Serbia such as Imperia, STEFAN NEMANJA Flores and Stara Sokolova generally age their sljivovica between 5 - 12 years in oak barrels. In the Falcon Region of Serbia, the tradition of growing and processing plums always had the highest priority. Plums are eaten fresh, dried for the winter and used for making jam but 80% of the plum crops are used for producing sljivovica. Today, the drink is viewed with great pride by the household producer whereas in the past it was also the basis of economic wealth. At a time when money was not reliable and banks were either in trouble or non existent, sljivovica was a means for a people to save for the future. A well aged sljivovica would increase in quality and value.
Slivovitz is a traditional digestif for Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe; since it is made from plums and (unlike many distilled liquors) does not involve fermenting grain, it is considered kosher for passover.
Rakia is supposed to be drunk from special small glasses (0.3 to 0.5 dl). It is often drunk warm, sometimes even heated (sugar is caramelized in a pan before the rakia is added) for better effect. |
| posted by Wine Addict @ 11:25 PM |
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| Slivovitz |
| Welcome to Slivovitz |
| posted by Wine Addict @ 11:24 PM |
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