Slovenia’s plumb brandy

All over the former Yugoslavia and the Balkan Peninsula, people love fruit brandy. In Slovenia, there’s one made from special plums.

Read the entire Ljubljana and Lake Bled Food & Travel Guide

Slivovka

I first encounted the homemade fruit brandies of the Balkans in Croatia. Our first night there, years ago, we were offered something called Rakia. I had no idea what it was, but our new friends, a group of young Croats in a bar who took a liking to these strange Americans, kept buying us shots and toasting with shouts of “živjeli.”

It was hopeless to try and keep up and by the end of the night we were looking for places, like a nearby potted plant, to discreetly pour out our Rakia.

In Slovenia, the most popular kind of plum brandy is Slivovka, made by fermenting plums. Damson are the plums of choice, prized for their high sugar content. Sometimes additional sugar and yeast are added to help the process along. The fermented mixture is then distilled, sometimes more than once and, viola, Slivovka (40-50% ABV).

Legend has it that Medieval monks first started distilling plums in the Balkans as a way to preserve the perishable fruit. Distilling of fruit moved to Slovenia in the 18th century when families in the Alps pioneered new high altitude distillation methods.

There are many kinds of fruit brandies in Slovenia including blueberry (borovničev), fig (figa), and viljamovka (pear).

Most bars will have a selection of brandies on offer. If you want a bottle, Vineria del Ponte in Ljubljana has a good selection and they’re happy to do a tasting.

Read the entire Ljubljana and Lake Bled Food & Travel Guide

Getting to Ljubljana

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU) has nonstop flights to much of Europe, though many of those are seasonal. There are no direct flights outside Europe except for a couple to the Middle East.

There’s also bus and train service from cities like Zagreb, Croatia (about 3 hours), Venice (2.5 hours), and Trieste, Italy (90 minutes).

About the Author

Brent Petersen is the Editor-in-Chief of Destination Eat Drink. He currently resides in Setubal, Portugal. Brent has written the novel “Truffle Hunt” (Eckhartz Press) and the short story collection “That Bird.” He’s also written dozens of foodie travel guides on Destination Eat Drink. Brent’s podcast, also called Destination Eat Drink, is available on all major podcasting platforms and is distributed by the Radio Misfits Podcast Network.