Rakija is the Serbian national drink in the strongest sense of that phrase, and šljivovica — plum brandy — is its central expression. It has been handcrafted and consumed for centuries, carried from generation to generation as a custom that experts say has become part of Serbian national identity, and it remains widespread in rural areas despite a modern boom in commercial distilleries and brands.

In December 2022, “Social practices and knowledge related to the preparation and use of the traditional plum spirit — šljivovica” was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. What was actually inscribed is the social knowledge around making and drinking it — not the spirit itself as a product — a distinction worth keeping straight, since it’s routinely reported the other way round.

Rakia Today

Production runs through a recognisable vocabulary: meka rakija (“soft”), the low-strength product of a first distillation, rarely drunk as-is; prepečenica, twice-distilled and the standard serious form at 45–55%; ljuta, “fierce” and high-strength; and stara, oak- or mulberry-wood-aged. Šumadija, Zlatibor, the Valjevo area and Podgorina are the key šljivovica regions, with Šumadijska šljivovica holding national geographical-indication status since 2019.

Beyond plum, dunjevača (quince) is widely considered the finest Serbian fruit rakija after plum itself — floral and honeyed, with a quince perfume that survives distillation intact — while klekovača, juniper-infused rakija shared with Bosnia, gives a pine-resinous, medicinal style at the other end of the spectrum.

Native Spirits

Fruit-Based

• Šljivovica [A] — 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.
• Dunjevača [A–B] — 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.
• Kajsijevača [B] — Apricot rakija, fragrant and stone-fruited, concentrated in Vojvodina.
• Viljamovka [B] — Williams pear rakija — clean and intensely varietal; the “pear in the bottle” bottlings are a Serbian specialty.
• Dudovača [B–C] — Mulberry rakija — deep, jammy and unusual, made from the same fruit as Armenia’s t’ti oghi, but handled quite differently.

Grape-Based

• Lozovača / Komovica [B] — Grape rakija from whole fruit or pomace, common in the wine regions — Župa, Fruška Gora, Negotin — but secondary to plum nationally.

Infused & Flavoured

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

Also Found (Not Individually Paged)

• Drenovača / drenjak [C] — Cornelian cherry rakija — tart and astringent, highly prized domestically, made in small quantity.
• Jabukovača, breskovača, malinovača (apple, peach, raspberry) [C–D] — Household scale.
• Travarica and medovača [C] — Herb and honey infusions, as found elsewhere in the region, but at a smaller scale in Serbia than in Croatia or Montenegro.

Specialty Spirits

Serbia’s most iconic bitter, one of its more curious dessert wines, and a cognac-style brandy still widely drunk across generations.

Liqueurs

• Pelinkovac — Gorki List [A] — Serbia’s iconic bitter — a fernet-based herbal liqueur first produced in 1953. The name means “bitter leaf,” alluding to its supposed healing properties, and it’s a distinctive ruby red at 28%. Until 2009 it was made in Subotica by the state-owned Subotičanka; when that company went bankrupt, production moved to Slovenia, and the brand is now owned by the Slovenian company Grenki List — a Serbian national drink now made in another country.
• Bermet [B] — From Sremski Karlovci on the slopes of Fruška Gora — an aromatised dessert wine infused with twenty or more herbs and spices, dark and sweet-bitter. The stories that it was served at the Habsburg court and appeared on the Titanic’s wine list are traditional rather than documented, but the drink is genuinely distinctive regardless.

Brandy

• Vinjak (Serbia) [A] — Made by the Serbian company Rubin since 1957 (privatised in 2005) — previously sold as “konjak” until stricter Cognac-name laws forced a rename. Wine is distilled to 67–70% ABV, aged several months to years in 500-litre oak casks, then cut with distilled water to 40%. Between 4.8 and 5.5 million litres are produced annually, graded like French cognac: V.S., 5 V.S.O.P. and XO — and it remains widely popular across generations in Serbia.

Also Found (Not Individually Paged)

• Lincura [C] — Gentian-root bitter, intensely bitter and medicinal. Small-scale.
• Fruit liqueurs (Višnjevača and similar) [C] — Sour cherry and similar macerations, made in the same households that make rakija.

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