WHAT IS PÁLINKA?

It grew here. It was distilled here. Only from fresh fruits. Sugar-free. It is ours!

The definition of palinka in the EU has limitations: the name pálinka can only be used for those spirits that are produced in Hungary, exclusively from fruit grown in our country. Adding sugar to the mash just to give it some extra flavour is absolutely forbidden. Austria is the only country that received the rights to use the name apricot palinka in four of its provinces. Original, high-quality palinka is transparent, colourless; but of course other varieties, such as “ágyas” (bedded) or “érlelt” (aged) have different colours.

WHAT IS NOT CLASSIFIED AS PÁLINKA?

Spirits mixed with honey or sugar. Anything which is not made from fruit.

All types of alcohol that is honey-flavoured, contains added sugar or other preservatives. All types of spirits that are not made from Hungarian fruits. Any alcoholic drink which does not get its alcohol content from fruits. These are only spirit drinks and should not be confused with palinka. Be very careful! Drink original, high-quality palinka!

WHAT DOES “KISÜSTI” MEAN?

If the capacity of the pot still does not exceed 1000 litres.

According to the regulations of “kisüsti” technology, the capacity of the pot still cannot be larger than 1000 litres. It is a traditional double distillation method. During the first step of the process, a liquid better known as “alszesz” (raw alcohol) is produced. Raw alcohol is not suitable for direct consumption; it is neither too strong, nor too fragrant. In the second step raw alcohol is refined through re-distillation, in a smaller pot still. The result of this stage is the original “kisüsti” palinka.

THE HISTORY OF PÁLINKA

700 years of history: from “aqua vitae” to “Hungaricum”

However distillation has been present for thousands of years, the spread of spirit drinks in Hungary dates back to the 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth, the wife of Charles I of Hungary, used aqua vitae as a medicine to cure arthritis. This spirit was probably a brandy blended with rosemary. Although distillation became widespread all over the world during the 16th-17th centuries, at that time the main purpose of distillation in the Carpathian Basin was to save the fruits that could not be eaten. In the 16th century, “szilvórium” was the most popular type of palinka. The Slovakian word palinka was first used in Hungary in the 17th century. In the beginning, it only referred to distillates made from grain, but later it was also used for fruit-based spirits. The production of palinka in our country was done privately, in small distilleries. During these times the government already did its best to make profit from the distilleries. Distilleries had to pay a huge price to redeem the rights to distil, however palinka tax was only introduced in the second half of the 19th century. Alcoholic beverages became more popular and their quality also improved during the industrial revolution by using steam. A growth in quantity caused a huge drop in prices, palinka became more like a consumer good instead of “medicine”. As a result, the industrial production of alcoholic drinks and liquors started. Since 2008, the production of Hungarian palinka has been regulated by the so-called “palinka law”, the drink has been a real Hungarian speciality ever since.

PDO (PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN) and PGI (PROTECTED GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION)

The history of Gönci apricot and palinka

The special geographical features of the Carpathian Basin were even acknowledged by Plinius (Pliny the Elder) in Naturalis Historia (Caius Plinius Secundus Maior, Historia Naturalis, 77.), he described our land as “Fruit growing Pannonia”. Thanks to its favourable geographical features, the landscape of Hungary is perfect for fruit-growing. This is also the reason why Hungarian fruits have remarkable, high-quality flavour and aroma. Hungarian apricot already made a reputation in Europe in the 16th century. The name “kajszi-baraczk” (apricot) first appeared in János Liptay’s works, it was named after some other types of apricots. The second half of the 19th century was the real golden age of the Hungarian apricot.

Basically, Gönci apricot became a well-known brand in the 1950-60s, when the production profiles of smallholdings and communal farms also strengthened. It was previously acknowledged in 1960 (Hungarian apricot 235 C.) and Gönci apricot became an officially acknowledged variety of the fruit in 1976. The brand became well-known especially from the 1970s, which was mainly the result of the large-scale production and trade of the apricot palinka. Climate, high quality fruit, traditions and full compliance with all the technological restrictions are some of the key factors that make Gönci apricot palinka unique. Top quality, excellent palinka could only be produced from high-quality ingredients. Apricot, the essential ingredient of palinka production can only be grown in those areas of the producing region of Gönc that are suitable for planting the fruit. Gönci apricot palinka can be produced and bottled exclusively in the distilleries of the district.

HOW TO PROPERLY DRINK PÁLINKA?

Slowly. Just sip it! After meal. Moderately.

Palinka should be consumed at room temperature, around 15-20 ℃, from a tulip-shaped glass. First we should tilt the glass a little bit and give a swirl to the drink, or just make a few circles with the glass, just like before tasting wine, and then we could immediately smell and enjoy the aroma of the palinka. After the mandatory clink of the glasses, palinka should be sipped slowly. Drinking it in one gulp would be inappropriate – that is nothing, but wasting the drink. Again, similarly to wine tasting, “chewing” palinka is also a good way of exposing it to every part of the mouth, especially below the tongue, where its aroma exerts its effect the most intensely. Right after swallowing the drink, we could smell the scent of the fruit by inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. The longer the aroma of the palinka lasts, the better the quality of the drink is. The last stage of the drinking is the so-called “dry test”. Once the glass is empty, put it aside for 3-5 minutes then feel free to sniff into it. We will smell a full-bodied, fruity, jamlike fragrance. We recommend drinking palinka mainly after meal as it has a beneficial effect on digestion.

HOW IS PÁLINKA MADE?

Fruit mash is prepared from fruits. Then it is distilled in two stages. The last step is aging.

The first step of making palinka is the bulk of the work: the carefully selected, high quality fruits are prepared and cleaned. Stone fruits are pitted, other fruits, like apple are ground. The second step is the fermentation: additives, like pectin enzyme, acids and yeast extract are added to the fruit mash. Then fruit mash is pumped into fermentation buckets, where the conversion of fructose to alcohol is performed by yeast. It could take one to four weeks to complete the process. The buckets are covered by cooling jackets in order to keep the mash at 17 ℃. At this stage, mash is prepared for distillation and transferred into the pot still. According to “kisüsti” technology regulations, the capacity of the pot still cannot be bigger than 1000 litres. The distillation of “kisüsti” palinka is carried out in two stages. In the very first step, the result is called “alszesz” (raw spirit). This liquid is not suitable for direct consumption; it is neither too strong, nor too fragrant. After this, the raw spirit is refined through re-distillation in a smaller pot still. The outcome of this process is the original “kisüsti” palinka. The pot still is a double-walled equipment, between the two layers hot steam or water is circulated, which is used for heating the mash. Such indirect heating is easy to control, so the liquid always boils at an ideal temperature. Straight after the refining process, we get the palinka itself. In general, 400 litres of mash can be used to produce 8-80 litres of palinka; the volume strongly depends on the fruit. As the last step, distillation is followed by aging; during this period, palinka achieves its real flavour and aroma. Before bottling, palinka is stored and aged in tanks made of stainless steel or wooden casks. Column distillation process is more and more popular in modern distilleries. The advantage of column distilling is that one single distillation is enough to produce palinka. Vapour is transferred from the pot to the fractionating column. Thanks to this device, only vapour with high alcohol content and aroma is carried to the spiral coolers.