🥃 Rakia

Rakia is the general name for strong fruit and grape distillates in the Balkans: plum, quince, apricot, pear, or made from grapes or pomace. EU law has no separate "rakia" category: fruit rakia falls under category 9 of Regulation 2019/787, pomace distillate under category 6, and wine distillate under category 4. The minimum strength in all three is 37.5% vol.

In Serbia, rakia is defined by the 2015 law on spirit drinks. "Rakija od voća" is obtained only by fermenting and distilling fleshy fruit, berries or vegetables, with or without stones, below 86% vol., so that the distillate keeps the smell and taste of the raw material. Added alcohol and flavouring are prohibited; methanol is limited to 1000 g/hl, for plum, apple or apricot to 1200, and for Williams pear or quince to 1350. The name must contain the word "rakija" and the name of the fruit, and "šljivovica" is allowed for plum. Komovica is rakia from grape pomace, also from 37.5% vol.

In the EU register, 12 Bulgarian names contain the word "rakya": ten grape ones, such as Sungurlarska or Pomoriyska grozdova rakya, and two plum ones, Troyanska and Loveshka (2005). In 2012 Croatia protected Hrvatska loza (grape), two šljivovica and the herbal Hrvatska travarica.

In 2022 UNESCO inscribed the Serbian tradition of šljivovica on its Representative List: it is distilled twice in handmade copper stills and aged for at least a year, usually in oak.

Why it matters to you. The word "rakia" does not tell you what the drink is made from: look for the name of the fruit, as in "rakija od šljive" or "šljivovica", or for "loza" or "grozdova" for grapes. Only a protected name guarantees origin. Flavouring fruit rakia is prohibited. WHO: there is no safe dose of alcohol.