Rakia List

The default Bulgarian rakia, made from grapes or pomace — colourless when young, straw to amber when oak-aged. Bulgaria has registered protected regional versions including Sungurlarska, Pomoriyska, Sukhindolska, Karlovska and Slivenska.

Distilled from Muscat or Misket grapes, retaining pronounced floral and grapey aromatics through distillation. Straldzhanska and Burgaska Muskatova are protected names, and it’s the easiest Bulgarian rakia for a newcomer.

Oak-aged grape rakia, from a year or two up to a decade or more, taking on colour, vanilla and dried-fruit character. Most premium Bulgarian bottlings are made in this style.

Plum rakia. Troyanska slivova, from the Troyan area in the Balkan Mountains, is the benchmark and a protected name — softer and rounder than the Serbian equivalent, and often aged.

Apricot rakia. Silistrenska kaysieva, from the Danube near Silistra, is the protected reference — intensely aromatic with stone-fruit kernel character, and one of the finest, most under-known fruit brandies in the Balkans.

The standard clear form, distilled from the marc of whichever variety the household or winery works with — most often Rkatsiteli, Saperavi, or the foxy, candied Isabella hybrid in the west. Commercial bottlings sit around 40–45%; home chacha often exceeds 55%.

Oak-matured, amber and softer than clear chacha, and more brandy-like in character — the direction most serious Georgian producers are now taking.

Made from a single variety’s marc and labelled as such — Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Kisi — following the same logic as varietal grappa in Italy, and the most interesting recent development in the category.

The heartland style; Tyrnavos holds its own protected designation. Made both plain and anise-flavoured — the anised version is the local default across much of Thessaly, drunk through a long meal of small plates rather than as a shot.

Northern Greece, including the Athos tradition. More often made without anise, and increasingly from named grape varieties — Xinomavro pomace tsipouro is a real thing and worth seeking.

Zitsa and the mountain villages. Usually unflavoured, often high-strength, with a rougher and more rustic profile than the Thessaly or Macedonia styles.

A growing premium category, oak-aged for several years — closer in weight to marc de Bourgogne than to grappa.

Crete’s own pomace brandy, and never anise-flavoured — the sharpest distinction from mainland tsipouro. Usually clear, around 37–45%, served ice-cold with something to eat. Protected under its own designation; confusingly called “raki” locally, with no connection to Turkish rakı.

Tsikoudia warmed with honey, cinnamon and sometimes cloves — a winter drink and folk remedy. A few commercial bottlings exist, but the real version is made to order.

The standard clear form — colourless, typically 45%, clean and dry with a faintly grapey character and a sharp finish. Traditionally drunk very cold with meze, and historically used as a household antiseptic.

Oak-matured, amber and softer than clear zivania, produced by several of the larger houses — a small but growing premium category.

The iconic Armenian fruit spirit and the one most worth seeking — made from black mulberries, giving a deep, jammy, almost balsamic character quite unlike any grape spirit. Associated particularly with Syunik and the Karabakh region.

Made from hon, the cornelian cherry that grows wild across the Caucasus — tart, red-fruited and astringent. Highly regarded domestically and rarely exported.

Armenia’s national fruit turned into spirit — fragrant and stone-fruited when well made, and more emotionally significant than its modest production volume suggests.

The everyday form of oghi in wine-growing regions, particularly Vayots Dzor and Armavir, made from pomace or whole fruit.

Plum rakia and the everyday national spirit. The Zetea de Medieșu Aurit designation, in Satu Mare county, uses a distinctive triple distillation through traditional direct-fired stills — the “Zetea method” — yielding a notably fine spirit; other protected names include Argeș, Buzău, Zalău, Bistrița and Valea Milcovului.

The strong, multiply distilled category, centred on Transylvania, Maramureș, Satu Mare and Bihor. Made most often from plum, but apple, pear, apricot and cherry pălincă are all serious categories in their own right, usually 50–60%. The Romanian spirit most likely to be found abroad.

The Maramureș regional name for what is essentially pălincă. Horincă de Cămârzana holds its own protected geographical-indication status, and the style is culturally inseparable from Maramureș village life.

Plum rakija, produced by fermenting plum mash and double-distilling to at least 40% ABV, traditionally in copper pot stills without additives. Požegača, Čačanska Rodna and Stanley are the key cultivars; Šumadijska šljivovica holds national geographical-indication status.

Quince rakija, widely considered the finest Serbian fruit rakija after plum — floral and honeyed, with a distinctive quince perfume that survives distillation intact. Increasingly exported.

Apricot rakija, fragrant and stone-fruited, concentrated in Vojvodina.

Williams pear rakija — clean and intensely varietal; the “pear in the bottle” bottlings are a Serbian specialty.

Mulberry rakija — deep, jammy and unusual, made from the same fruit as Armenia’s t’ti oghi, but handled quite differently.

Grape rakija from whole fruit or pomace, common in the wine regions — Župa, Fruška Gora, Negotin — but secondary to plum nationally.

Juniper rakija — šljivovica or grape rakija redistilled or macerated with juniper berries. Shared with Bosnia; pine-resinous and medicinal.

Grape rakija from whole grapes. Hrvatska Loza is a protected national designation — clean and dry, usually 40%, and the everyday coastal default.

The pomace version of loza. Istarska komovica, from Istria, is the best-known regional style — sharper and more structural than loza.

Plum rakija, and the continental counterpart to coastal loza. Hrvatska stara šljivovica and Slavonska šljivovica both hold protected status; aged “stara” versions are amber and considerably softer.

Fig rakija, from Dalmatia and the islands. Sweet-edged and dense, with a distinct dried-fruit character — one of the more unusual spirits in the region.

Pear rakija, usually made from Williams pears. The best versions are clean and intensely varietal.

Herb-infused loza, and the signature Dalmatian spirit — Hrvatska Travarica is a protected designation. Common botanicals include rue, sage, rosemary, St John’s wort, juniper, mint and wormwood; every household and konoba has its own combination.

Istrian mistletoe rakija, with a lineage the Istrians trace to Celtic druidic practice. Herbal and slightly medicinal, and made nowhere else.

Honey-infused rakija from the continental north and Istria — sweet, warming, often served heated in winter.

Green walnut liqueur, made by macerating unripe walnuts picked around midsummer — dark brown, bittersweet, with clove and cinnamon. More liqueur than rakija, but universally grouped with it.

Grape rakija and the national default, made from the Vranac and Krstač material that dominates the Ćemovsko Polje vineyard. Plantaže’s Montenegrin Loza is the widely distributed commercial version, clean and dry around 40–43%.

The pomace version of loza, sharper and more rustic than the whole-grape spirit — made by small producers and households.

Loza infused with wild herbs — typically sage, rosemary, rue, St John’s wort, juniper and sometimes carob, varying by household and stretch of coast. Shared with the Croatian Adriatic; the Montenegrin coastal version tends to be drier and more sharply herbal.

The everyday default raki, made from grapes — sometimes from pomace like grappa, sometimes from whole grapes. Skrapar is the benchmark regional style, clean and dry at 42–46% and the version Albanians give as a serious gift; Berat, Përmet and Korçë each have their own recognised character.

Mulberry raki, Përmet’s own style — made from wild black mulberries along the Vjosa valley riverbanks, with a deep, almost jammy quality. Widely considered the smoothest of the main raki styles.

Plum raki — sweeter and softer than the grape versions, particularly popular in Korçë and Pogradec in the east and across northern Albania.

Grape rakija, made either from whole grapes (lozova) or from pomace (komova) — usually the marc of Vranec and Smederevka. Commercial bottlings from Tikveš, Skovin and others reach export markets in modest quantity.

“Yellow rakija” — oak-aged grape rakija, amber and softer than the clear default. The premium domestic category, and the one most likely to be given as a gift.

Plum rakija, much more important in the eastern and northern parts of the country than in the wine regions — softer and rounder than the Serbian style.