Eastern Europe: Rakija

Raki Dept: Known as rakia or rakija, raki, palenka and a few other variants throughout much of Eastern Europe, the drink is considered a national beverage in such countries as Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey, where backyard stills are almost as plentiful as sweet orchard fruit, according to Globe and Mail. And don t mistake these sipping brandies for sweet liqueurs, such as Cointreau or cr me de cassis. Rakia is almost always dry and clear, free of added sugar or flavourings. The best are sublime, offering an uncanny essence of ripe fruit carried to a long, heartwarming finish on 40-per-cent alcohol harvest hooch par excellence and we wanted to showcase Eastern European culture, and this drink, to people who haven t been necessarily culturally exposed to it, says owner Dusan Varga, a Serbian immigrant. But it s by no means confined to those nations. Most of us know rakia by another name: eau-de-vie. While that term technically captures all distilled spirits, it tends to be reserved for clear brandies made directly from fresh fruit, most notably Poire William, cherry-based kirsch and plum-based slivovitz. In contrast, cognac is distilled from wine, Calvados from cider, grappa from pomace and whiskies and vodkas from grains. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.