Palinka
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Palinka (Hungarian: Pálinka, Romanian: Pălincă, Slovak: Pálenka) is a traditional type of brandy (specifically, an eau de vie) that is produced in Hungary and Romania, mostly in Transylvania. The origin of the word is Slavic, stemming from the word páliť (in Slovak) which means to distill. Pálinka is almost always drunk in shot glasses straight up.
It is usually made from plums (Hungarian: "szilva", Romanian: "prune"), apples (Hungarian: "alma", Romanian: "mere"), pears (Hungarian: "körte", Romanian: "pere"), apricots (Hungarian: "barack", Romanian: "caise") and sometimes cherries (Hungarian: "cseresznye", Romanian: "cireşe"), and is double-distilled. It can even be made from pomace, the residue from winemaking.
The alcohol content varies, with 40% or less more being the norm, as required by law for stamped bottles available in stores. Homemade palinkas typically have a higher alcohol content than 40%. Another version (around 40% alcohol) is called ţuică in Romania. The most alcoholic palinkas are (informally) referred to as "kerítésszaggató" in Hungarian, which literally means "fence-tearer" (referring to a drunkard's loss of balance). These potent, home-made, "házi (house) pálinka"s are not commercially available but are nonetheless very common. In Hungary, one can ferment a batch of fruit mash at home, then take the fermented mash to a distiller, who can then legally distill the mash to the desired strength. Although home distillers exist, home stills are illegal in Hungary and many other nations.[citation needed]
There was some confusion in Hungary as to whether some products could actually be called pálinka according to European Union law. As a consequence, a whole family of popular products by Zwack was rebranded as párlat (generic distillate) for internal markets. Traditional pálinkas mixed with honey were rebranded as párlat as well, even if there was no unorthodox step in the process of distillation. In Hungary the rule of thumb is that a genuine pálinka's alcohol content should be over 37%, and it should be made of fruits or herbs indigenous to the Carpathian Basin. A cheap mixture of fruit juice and ethanol, "szeszesital", is available, and was labeled as "palinka", but now Hungarian law requires that szeszesital be labeled as such, and not referred to as pálinka.
[edit] Pálenka (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Pálenka denotes any kind of distillate, but especially fruit distillate, in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is also often used as a generic word for all kinds of liquors, including vodka, gin, borovička, etc. The word derives from the Slavonic stem "páliť", to distil.
Most traditional types of pálenka in Slovakia are slivovica (plum spirit), ražná (grain spirit), borovička (a special kind of liquor distilled from the berries of Juniperus communis), hruškovica (pear spirit), jablkovica (apple spirit). Popular are also čerešňovica (cherry spirit) and marhuľovica (apricot spirit). Very expensive is pálenka distilled from fermented forest berries, including raspberries, blueberries and cranberries. Drienkovica (a spirit distilled from Cornelian cherries (Cornus mas, drienky in Slovak) was popularized by former Slovak president Rudolf Schuster.
The word pálenka was borrowed by Hungarians (pálinka) and Romanians (palincă). Its meaning remains very similar.
