Specialty Spirits

Bulgarian state standards mandate a minimum 47% ABV, making it one of the strongest anise spirits in Europe. Made by rectifying essential oils from star aniseed with distilled alcohol, natural anise oil and sugar — chilling produces a signature crystallisation effect as anise compounds form delicate crystals in the liquid. Vinprom Peshtera, running since 1939, is the benchmark producer. Served very cold, ideally frozen, as an aperitif with meze, tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet melon or watermelon.

A sweet mint liqueur distilled from mint leaves, typically 15–25% ABV, made in green or clear versions by essentially the same process as mastika with peppermint standing in for anise. Drunk cold in summer, often mixed with chilled milk or a soft drink and a slice of lemon.

Made from Rosa damascena grown in the Kazanlak valley, the same rose crop behind Bulgaria’s rose-oil industry. Intensely floral and sweet — mostly a gift and tourist product, but a genuine local speciality.

Bulgaria’s classic homemade sour cherry liqueur, and the all-time favourite of the country’s home-liqueur tradition — sour cherries macerated with sugar in rakia, traditionally in a 1:1:1 ratio of cherries, sugar and rakia, left in direct sunlight for 40 days or more and shaken occasionally until the sugar fully dissolves and the colour darkens. The same base method (rakia infused after distillation) is also used with herbs, honey or walnuts, but sour cherry is the classic version, historically seen as a lighter, sweeter drink for gatherings, not a popular standalone rakia in its own right. Part of the same wider Balkan family as Serbian and Croatian višnjevača.

Oak-aged grape brandies, the category built up during the socialist period and still the domestic default. Preslav Pliska is the best-known name, alongside Karnobatska grape brandy and Pomorie Muskatova brandy — the latter distilled from Muscat and retaining noticeable floral character. Inexpensive and reasonably widely exported to diaspora markets.

A traditional Bulgarian aromatised wine, not a distilled spirit — red, white or rosé wine flavoured with wormwood (pelin, the Bulgarian name for Artemisia) and other botanicals, often rounded out with fruit such as grapes, apples or quince. Written references trace to the mid-19th century, when it appeared at festive occasions and as an aperitif; the village of Osmar on the Shumen Plateau (producing since 1898) and Sungurlare on the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains are the traditional centres. Under current EU rules it must be made from wine at a minimum 8.5% alcohol, with defined limits on sugar and acidity. Wormwood-flavoured wine has far deeper roots than Bulgaria alone — related aromatised wines appear across European wine culture under different regional names, with evidence of similar herb-and-wormwood wine additions found in vessels from Abydos, Egypt, dating to roughly 3150 BCE.

Founded in Tbilisi in 1884 by David Sarajishvili, and the reference point for Georgian brandy — a wine distillate aged in Caucasian oak, made in a Cognac-derived style from Georgia’s white grape varieties. The older expressions are genuinely good and priced far below their French equivalents.

The main alternative to Sarajishvili, with a comparable range.

Greece’s national spirit by export volume — rectified alcohol redistilled with anise plus fennel, coriander, cardamom, mastic and other botanicals, then sweetened and reduced, minimum 37.5%. Under EU rules only Greece and Cyprus may produce it, and part of the alcohol must be flavour-distilled in traditional copper stills rather than simply compounded. Protected names include Ouzo of Mytilene and Plomari (the most famous), Kalamata, Thrace and Macedonia. Traditionally served with a splash of water, which turns it milky white as the anise oils come out of solution — the “ouzo effect” — and drunk slowly with meze, never as a shot.

Greece’s resin liqueur, seasoned with mastic gathered from the mastic trees of Chios — the only place in the world where the trees produce this resin, giving a distinctive pine or cedar-like flavour known as the “tears of Chios.” Usually 15–25%, best served cold at the end of a meal; Skinos is the best-known export brand, and a mastiha-flavoured ouzo also exists. Not to be confused with Balkan mastika, an unrelated anise spirit.

A cinnamon-spiced liqueur from Patras dating to the 15th century — cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, citron and mandarin peel extracted into alcohol, then sweetened with caramel syrup into a richly flavoured amber digestif. Traditionally served warm in colder months, or over ice, and pairs well with coffee and desserts.

A protected Cycladic speciality made from the leaves, not the fruit, of the citron tree — macerated in neutral alcohol, distilled, then sweetened. Comes in three versions: green (30%, sweetest), colourless (33%) and yellow (36%, the driest and strongest).

Corfu’s kumquat liqueur, made from a tree established on the island since 1924 — the fruit is too bitter to eat raw, but the liqueur is sweet, often called the Greek answer to limoncello. The family-run Mavromatis distillery is the best-known producer.

Greece’s flagship aged spirit, and strictly not a brandy at all — created in 1888 by Spyros Metaxas as a blend of oak-matured wine distillate with aged Muscat wine and a botanical infusion including rose petals, a composition that puts it in a legal category of its own. Graded by stars — 5, 7 and 12 — then Private Reserve and the premium AEN and Grande Fine bottlings; the 12 Star is where it becomes genuinely interesting.

Cyprus makes its own ouzo under the same EU rules that allow Greece — similar in style to mainland Greek ouzo, though production is almost entirely for domestic consumption.

A Cypriot orange liqueur from the Famagusta district, made from bitter orange peel with a herb and spice infusion, commercially made since the mid-20th century. Amber, sweet and spiced — the island’s one distinctive liqueur and a fixture of Cypriot duty-free.

Produced by the island’s four established houses — KEO, ETKO, LOEL and SODAP — in a deliberately light, relatively neutral style, made specifically to serve as the base for the Brandy Sour.

The most internationally significant spirit in this whole set. The Yerevan Brandy Company was founded in 1887, later owned by Russian merchant Nikolay Shustov, and is now part of Pernod Ricard — distilling wine made from Armenia’s white varieties (Voskehat, Garan Dmak, Mskhali, Kangun, Rkatsiteli) and ageing it in Caucasian oak. The range runs 3/5/6 star, then named expressions: Ani, Otborny, Akhtamar (10 years), Vaspurakan (15), Nairi (20) and Erebuni (25). The story that Stalin gifted Churchill a lifetime supply of Dvin is repeated everywhere and documented nowhere — treat it as folklore.

The main alternatives to Ararat, from other Yerevan producers.

Heavily exported, and often the first “Armenian wine” a foreign buyer encounters — usually semi-sweet. It is not grape wine, and shouldn’t be confused with Armenia’s actual Areni and Voskehat grape wines.

Sour cherries macerated in spirit with sugar over several weeks, then strained — the classic Romanian household liqueur, made in enormous quantities domestically and increasingly bottled commercially. Deep red and sweet, with a pronounced kernel note if the stones are left in.

Romania’s Cognac-type category, literally “burnt wine” — oak-aged wine distillate made from Romania’s grape varieties. Protected names at European level include Vinars Târnave, Vaslui, Murfatlar, Vrancea and Segarcea, with five vinars designations recognised nationally. Distinct from țuică and pălincă, and frequently confused with them.

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.

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.

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.

Croatia’s most historically significant spirit — a clear cherry liqueur made from Marasca cherries, fruit, leaves and crushed stones together, distilled and then sweetened and aged, giving an almond-and-kernel character quite unlike sweet cherry liqueurs. The Zadar distilling tradition traces to monastic production; Girolamo Luxardo founded his house there in 1821, and after the Second World War the Luxardo family relocated to Torreglia in Italy while the Maraska company continued in Zadar — both exist today, which is why the same drink appears as an Italian and a Croatian product. Protected as a Croatian designation.

A wormwood bitter liqueur (pelen/pelin) popular across Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Slovenia at 28–35% ABV. Badel Pelinkovac has been made in Zagreb since 1871 at 32% and was reportedly the first Croatian drink served at the court of Napoleon III; other brands include Dalmacijavino of Split, Maraska of Zadar and Darna of Rovinj. Badel began exporting to the US in 2017 after a two-year permitting process, having already reached 30 countries. Variations include Premium/Antique Pelinkovac, Pelinkovac Orange, and štrukani pelinkovac, served with a squeeze of lemon.

Badel 1862 claims the first brandy later named Vinjak, produced in Croatia as Glembay 15 y.o., distilled at the Benkovac winery by a process identical to French cognac; Cezar, another Vinjak, followed in 1970.

A sweet Dalmatian dessert wine made from dried grapes — not actually a liqueur, though routinely mistaken for one. It became the subject of a dispute with Italy over its name’s similarity to Prosecco, despite being an entirely different product with a much longer local history.

A serious cognac-style brandy from the Kantina Skënderbeu distillery in Durrës — a wine distillate aged in oak, and Albania’s flagship non-raki spirit, reaching diaspora markets.

Anise-flavoured, and considered North Macedonia’s national drink — 45% ABV, fiery, made from a base of grapes, raisins, plums or figs. Turns white over ice and forms small crystals in the freezer; Strumica and Ohrid are the traditional centres, and Skopsko Mastika is the best-known brand, usually drunk with meze.

Made by the large wineries — Tikveš, Skovin — from the same base as their rakija. Competent and domestic, without an established export identity.