{{Short description|Fruit brandy popular in the Balkans}} {{Distinguish|Rakı|Raksi}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}} {{Use British English|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox beverage | name = Rakia | image = ЕленскаСливова.jpg | type = Liqueur | abv = 40+ vol-% | origin = Bulgaria or Serbia{{NoteTag|Bulgarian archaeologists have identified an 11th-century fragment of a distillation vessel, which some historians interpret as evidence that rakia may have originated in Bulgaria.<ref name="archaeologists" /> The earliest written record of rakia production appears in a 14th-century Serbian source. There are 14th-century inscriptions mentioning rakia in Bulgaria.<ref name="Edmonds" /> }} | colour = | flavour = various fruits, incl. grape, plum, peach, apricot | variants = }}
'''Rakia''', '''rakija''', '''rakiya''', '''rachiu''' or '''rikea''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɑː|k|i|ə|,_|ˈ|r|æ|-|,_|r|ə|ˈ|k|iː|ə|}}), is the collective term for fruit spirits or fruit brandy popular in the Balkans. The alcohol content of rakia is normally 40% ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger (typically 50–80%).<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 January 2016 |last=R. |first=Ivan |title=Rakia – Everything you wanted to know about this drink |url=https://www.slavorum.org/rakia-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-this-drink/ |publisher=slavorum.org |access-date=17 November 2019 |archive-date=31 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831154206/https://www.slavorum.org/rakia-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-this-drink/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Overview == Rakia is produced from fermented and distilled fruits, typically plums and grapes, but also apricots, pears, cherries or raspberries.<ref name="Bethune">{{cite web |last1=Bethune |first1=Meredith |title=What Is Rakija? |url=https://www.tastingtable.com/693535/rakija-rakia-spirit-cocktails-brandy/ |website=tastingtable.com |date=14 January 2022 |access-date=2 December 2022 |archive-date=2 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902080208/https://www.tastingtable.com/693535/rakija-rakia-spirit-cocktails-brandy/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other fruits less commonly used are peaches, apples, figs, blackberries, and quince. Common flavours are ''šljivovica'' and ''țuică'', produced from plums,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wells |first1=Mike |title=The Danube Cycleway Volume 2: From Budapest to the Black Sea |date=2016 |publisher=Cicerone Press Limited |isbn=9781783623136 |pages=44–48}}</ref> ''kaysieva''/''kajsija'', produced from apricots, or ''grozdova''/''lozova'' in Bulgaria, ''raki rrushi'' in Albania, ''lozovača''/''komovica'' in Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina all produced from grapes.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Kahl |editor1-first=Thede |editor2-last=Kreuter |editor2-first=Peter Mario |editor3-last=Vogel |editor3-first=Christina |title=Culinaria balcanica |date=2015 |publisher=Frank & Timme GmbH |isbn=9783732901388 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEQtBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA85}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nickels |first1=Sylvie |title=Yugoslavia: Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Hercgovina, including the Dalmatian coast, Volume 1 |date=1969 |publisher=J Cape |page=107}}</ref>
Plum and grape rakia are sometimes mixed with other ingredients, such as herbs, honey, sour cherries and walnuts, after distillation.<ref name="Bethune" />
== By country == === Albania === Raki ({{lang-sq-definite|rakia}}) (a type of rakia) is a traditional drink in Albania.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/12472/Albania/42634/Political-process#toc276850 | title=Encyclopædia Britannica | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica | access-date=4 September 2013 | archive-date=12 May 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512051559/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/12472/Albania/42634/Political-process#toc276850 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://balkaninsight.com/2012/01/24/islam-in-kosovo-proves-no-bar-to-alcohol/ | title=Islam in Kosovo Proves no Bar to Alcohol | date=24 January 2012 | access-date=14 January 2021}}</ref> Until the 19th century, meyhanes would serve wine or meze.<ref>Music of the Sirens, Inna Naroditskaya, Linda Phyllis Austern, Indiana University Press, p.290</ref>
=== Bulgaria === [[File:Rakia, Sofia ( 1070644).jpg|thumb|left|175px|A glass of rakiya in a restaurant in Sofia, Bulgaria]] Bulgaria cites an old piece of pottery from the 14th century in which the word ''rakiya'' ({{langx|bg|ракия}}) is inscribed. The inscription on it reads: “I have celebrated with rakia.”<ref name="Edmonds">{{Cite web |last=Edmunds |first=Weronika |date=2022-09-16 |title=Have You Tried These Surprising Flavors of Rakija? |url=https://3seaseurope.com/rakija-origins-bulgaria-croatia/ |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=3 Seas Europe |language=en-US |ref=Weronika}}</ref> The country has taken measures to declare the drink as a national drink in the European Union to allow lower excise duty domestically but has yet yielded no concrete results.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.trud.bg/Article.asp?ArticleId=1071683 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115061018/http://www.trud.bg/Article.asp?ArticleId=1071683 | title=Археолог доказва - ракията е българска |trans-title=A Bulgarian Archeologist Has Proved It - Rakia is Bulgarian |language=Bulgarian | publisher=Trud | date=10 October 2011 | archive-date=15 January 2012 | author1=Veselina Angelova |author2=Liliya Tsatcheva | access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> During an archaeological study, Bulgarian archaeologists discovered an 11th-century fragment of a distillation vessel used for the production of rakiya. Due to the age of the fragment, contradicting the idea that rakiya production only began in the 16th century, historians believe this indicates that rakiya did originally come from Bulgaria.<ref name="archaeologists">{{cite news |date=2015-07-27 |title=Bulgarian Archaeologists Discover 11th Century Rakia Distillation Vessel |url=http://www.novinite.com/articles/170063/Bulgarian+Archaeologists+Discover+11th+Century+Rakia+Distillation+Vessel |work=Novinite.com |language=en |archive-date=30 July 2015 |access-date=27 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730032254/http://www.novinite.com/articles/170063/Bulgarian+Archaeologists+Discover+11th+Century+Rakia+Distillation+Vessel |url-status=live }}</ref> The EU recognizes 12 brands of Bulgarian rakiya through the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) marks, which protect the name of products from a specific region that follow a traditional production process.<ref name="europa1">{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety-and-quality/certification/quality-labels/geographical-indications-register/ |title=eAmbrosia |publisher=European Commission |date=2018-10-24 |access-date=2020-03-14 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116001920/https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety-and-quality/certification/quality-labels/geographical-indications-register/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Croatia === [[File:Pečenje rakije u Međimurju (Croatia).jpg|thumb|left|175px|Traditional distillation of rakija (plum spirit) in Međimurje (northern Croatia)]] Rakija is the most popular spirit in Croatia.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/hrvati-najradije-svih-zestokih-pica-piju-rakiju-clanak-436045 | title=Hrvati najradije od svih žestokih pića piju rakiju | date=28 July 2012 | work=Večernji list | language=hr | access-date=23 August 2012 | archive-date=24 June 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624115150/http://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/hrvati-najradije-svih-zestokih-pica-piju-rakiju-clanak-436045 | url-status=live }}</ref> Travarica (herbal rakija) is usually served at the beginning of the meal, together with dried figs. The Croatian Adriatic coast is known for a great variety of herbal rakija, some typical for only one island or group of islands.<ref name="Łuczaj">{{cite journal |last1=Łuczaj |first1=Łukasz |last2=Jug-Dujaković |first2=Marija |last3=Dolina |first3=Katija |title=Plants in alcoholic beverages on the Croatian islands, with special reference to rakija travarica |journal=Journal of eJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicinethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |date=November 2019 |volume=15 |issue=51 |page=51 |doi=10.1186/s13002-019-0332-1 |pmid=31690333 |pmc=6833235 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The island Hvar is famous for rakija with the addition of Myrtus (''mrtina''—bitter and dark brown). Southern islands, such as Korčula, and the city of Dubrovnik are famous for rakija with anise (''aniseta''), and in central Dalmatia the most popular rakija is rakija with walnuts (''orahovica''). It is usually homemade, and served with dry cookies or dried figs. In the summer, it's very typical to see huge glass jars of rakija with nuts steeping in the liquid on every balcony, because the process requires the exposure of orahovica to the sun. In the northern Adriatic—mainly Istria—rakija is typically made of honey (''medica'') or mistletoe (''biska''). Biska, which is yellow-brown and sweet, is a typical liquor of Istria. In the interior of the country a spirit called šljivovica (shlivovitza) is made from plums, and one called viljamovka (viliam-ovka) is made from Williams pears. Croatia has EU Protected Geographical Indication of 6 rakija products (Zadarski maraschino, Hrvatska travarica, Hrvatski pelinkovac, Hrvatska stara šljivovica, Slavonska šljivovica and Hrvatska loza).<ref name="europa1"/>
=== Greece === In Greece, the most popular traditional Cretan spirit is known as tsikoudia (Greek: ''τσικουδιά''). On the mainland, a similar spirit called tsipouro (Greek: ''τσίπουρο'') is prevalent.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rothbaum |first1=Noah |title=The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190670405 |page=335 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=holNEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA335 |archive-date=14 August 2025 |access-date=26 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250814105854/https://books.google.com/books?pg=PA335&id=holNEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Both tsikoudia and tsipouro are informally referred to as ''raki'' due to the Ottoman-era nomenclature when ''raki'' was a generic term describing distilled liquors, a term which informally remains in use today.
Cretan tsikoudia is a pomace brandy made by single distilling grapes after most of their juice has been extracted to produce wine and having left them to ferment in barrels. Special permits are given from late October until the end of November to produce tsikoudia at home in Cretan villages. Unlike tsipouro, tsikoudia is not twice distilled and does not contain anise. It is commonly served cold as an apéritif with seafood and meze, usually referred to as ''rakomezedes'', or as a complimentary digestif with spoon sweets or fruit after a meal.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}
Tsikoudia is an integral element of the island's culture, identified by many as "the national drink of Crete" and linked to hospitality.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Souranaki |first=Clio |date=April 2021 |title=Cretan Tsikoudia - Raki |url=https://www.mycretangoods.com/article/24090/Tsikoudia-Raki/ |website=My Cretan Goods}}</ref>
=== Serbia === [[File:Rakija from Serbia1.JPG|thumb|175px|Quince rakija from Serbia in traditional flasks]]
Rakija ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Ракија}}) is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks in Serbia.<ref name="novosti.rs">{{cite web|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/aktuelno.239.html:247897-Nema-sljivke-bez-podrske|title=Nema šljivke bez podrške|work=NOVOSTI|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-date=22 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922171236/http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/aktuelno.239.html:247897-Nema-sljivke-bez-podrske|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the national drink of Serbia.<ref name="Rakia, The Serbian National Drink">{{cite web|url=http://www.sickchirpse.com/rakia/|title=Rakia, The Serbian National Drink|work=Sick Chirpse|date=5 April 2013|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-date=13 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713173822/https://www.sickchirpse.com/rakia/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rakiabar.com/about-rakia/brandy-history.30.html|title=Brandy history - Rakia Bar|access-date=28 September 2014|archive-date=2 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202130534/http://www.rakiabar.com/about-rakia/brandy-history.30.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.belgradian.com/serbian-drinks/rakija/|title=Rakija|date=2011|publisher=BELGRADIAN by KIELO|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323180204/http://www.belgradian.com/serbian-drinks/rakija/|url-status=live}}</ref> The first legal and official rakija distillery, Bojkovčanka, was established in 1985 about 10 miles south of Belgrade.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Farley |first=David |date=2022 |title=Get to Know Rakia, the Spirit of the Balkans |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/what-is-rakia-6822616 |access-date=12 July 2025 |archive-date=8 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250108092548/https://www.foodandwine.com/what-is-rakia-6822616 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Dragan Đurić, President of the Association of Producers of Natural Spirits, the EU protects the names of beverages by allowing the prefix ''Serbian''.<ref name="novosti.rs"/> In Serbia there are 10,000 private producers of rakija. Two thousand are on the official register and only about a hundred cellars produce high-quality spirit.<ref name="novosti.rs"/> The most popular rakijas in Serbia are: "sljivovica"-it is made from plum, apricot rakija and pear rakija. Belgrade is the site of a Rakija museum.<ref name="dailybeast">{{cite news |last1=Weisstuch |first1=Liza |title=Is This Rustic Southern European Booze the Next Mezcal? |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/sljiva-serbias-popular-brandy-could-be-the-next-mezcal |work=The Daily Beast |date=11 February 2023}}</ref> A 14th century Serbian source is the earliest confirmation of Rakija-making.<ref name="Edmonds" />
=== Turkey === Rakiya (not to be confused with similarly named, but entirely different, rakı<ref>{{Cite web | title=The Difference Between Raki And Rakija | url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1132496/the-difference-between-raki-and-rakija/ | access-date=2025-08-04 | website=www.tastingtable.com | date=9 December 2022 | archive-date=13 August 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250813011534/https://www.tastingtable.com/1132496/the-difference-between-raki-and-rakija/ | url-status=live }}</ref>) is also consumed in Turkey, but is far less popular than other distilled spirits or wine.
== Ritual use ==
At the end of the Orthodox Christian burial service, at the exit from the cemetery, visitors are offered a piece of soda bread (''pogača'') and a glass of rakia.<ref name="Piercy">{{cite book |last1=Piercy |first1=Joseph |title=Slippery Tipples: A Guide to Weird and Wonderful Spirits and Liqueurs |date=2010 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780752496856 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=POcTDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT17}}</ref> When drinking "for the soul" of the deceased, one spills some rakia on the ground, saying "May God receive this for her/him", before drinking the rest.<ref name="Piercy" />
It is also used as a sacramental element by the Bektashi Order,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Magra |first1=Iliana |title=The Bektashis have stopped hiding |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/society/1225686/the-bektashis-have-stopped-hiding/ |website=www.ekathimerini.com |date=26 November 2023 |access-date=30 March 2024 |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130212417/https://www.ekathimerini.com/society/1225686/the-bektashis-have-stopped-hiding/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Alevi Jem ceremonies, where it is not considered alcoholic and is referred to as "dem".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Soileau |first=Mark |date=August 2012 |title=Spreading the ''Sofra'': Sharing and Partaking in the Bektashi Ritual Meal |journal=History of Religions |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/665961 |url-access=subscription |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=1–30 |access-date=5 June 2021 |doi=10.1086/665961 |jstor=10.1086/665961 |archive-date=27 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727054837/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/665961 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Types == There are many kinds of rakia, depending on the fruit it is produced from:
{|class=wikitable |- style="vertical-align:top; border-bottom:1px solid #666;" ! Fruits ! Bulgaria ! Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia ! Greece ! Albania and Kosovo |- !colspan="5"|Basic types |- | plum (slivovitz) | сливова (''slivova'') сливовица (''slivovitsa'') | šljivovica, шљивовица, шливка, сливка | Κουμπλόρακο (Ρακί κορόμηλου) / Raki koromilou | Raki Kumbulle |- | grapes | гроздова (''grozdova'')<br />гроздовица (''grozdovitsa'')<br />мускатова (''muskatova'') | лозова (''lozova''), lozovača/loza, лозова ракија/лозовача/лоза | Σταφυλόρακη (ρακί σταφυλής) / raki stafylis | Raki Rrushi |- | grape pomace<br />(''kom''){{ref|a}} | джиброва (''dzhibrova'')<br />джибровица (''dzhibrovitsa'')<br />шльокавица (''shlyokavitsa'') | komovica, комова ракија/комовица | Τσίπουρο-Τσικουδιά (ρακί στεμφύλων σταφυλής) / tsipouro-tsikoudia (raki stemfylon stafylis) | Raki Bërsi |- | apricot | кайсиева (''kaysieva'') | mareličarka, kajsijevača, кајсијевача | Ρακί βερίκοκου / raki verikokou | Raki Kajsie |- | peach | прасковена (''praskovena'') | rakija od breskve, ракија од брескве, breskavica | Ρακί ροδάκινου / raki rodakinou | Raki Pjeshke |- | pear | крушoва (''krushova'') | kruškovača/vilijamovka, крушковача/виљамовка, крушка | Ρακί αχλαδιού / raki achladiou | Raki Dardhe |- | apple | ябълкова (''yabalkova'') | jabukovača, јабуковача | Ρακί μήλου / raki milou | Raki Molle |- | mulberry | черничева (''chernicheva'')<br />църница (''tsarnitsa'') | dudova rakija/dudovača/dudara, дудова ракија/дудовача/дудара | Ρακί απο σκάμνια, ρακί μούρων / raki apo skamnia, raki mouron | Raki Mëni |- | quince | дюлева (''dyuleva'') | dunjevača, дуњевача | Ρακί κυδωνιού / raki kydoniou | Raki Ftoji |- | fig | смокинова (''smokinova'') | smokovača, смоквача | Συκόρακη, Ρακί σύκου / Sykoraki, Raki sykou | Raki fiku |- | cherry | черешова (''chereshova'') | trešnjevača | Ρακί κερασιού / raki kerasiou | Raki qershie |- | mixed fruits | плодова (''plodova'') | — | Ρακί φρούτων / raki frouton |— |- | with sour cherries | вишновка (''vishnovka'') | višnjevac/višnjevača, вишњевача | Βυσνόρακι, Ρακί βύσσινου / Visnoraki, raki vyssinou | Raki Vishnje |- !colspan="5"|With additions |- | with roses | гюлова (''gyulova'') | ružica | — |— |- | with herbs | билкова (''bilkova'') | travarica, траварица/trava | — |— |- | with bilberries | — | borovnička, боровничка | — | Raki Boronice |- | with juniper | | klekovača, клековача | — | Raki Dëllinje |- valign=top | with honey{{ref|b}} | медена (''medena'') | medenica, medovača, medica, medenjača, zamedljana (very popular in Istria—a region in Croatia), медовача/medovača, medovice | Ρακόμελο / rakomelo | Raki e Pjekur |- valign=top | with anise | анасонлийка (''anasonliyka'') | mastika, мастика | Τσίπουρο με γλυκάνισο / tsipouro me glykaniso |— |}
==Notes== {{NoteFoot}} {{smalldiv| : 2.{{note|a}}''Kom'' or ''komina'' is the fruity grape mash that remains after winemaking. It contains up to 5.5 litres of pure alcohol per 100 kg, and at least 40% dry matter. : 3.{{note|b}}Not to be confused with mead, which is made solely of honey. }}
== See also == {{Portal|Liquor|Drink}} * Chacha (brandy) * Liqueur * Nalewka * Pomace brandy * Pálinka
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Rakija}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}} {{Alcohol and health}} {{Cuisine of Bulgaria}} {{Serbian cuisine}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Albanian distilled drinks Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina distilled drinks Category:Bulgarian distilled drinks Category:Ceremonial food and drink Category:Croatian distilled drinks Category:Fruit brandies Category:Funeral food and drink Category:Guest greeting food and drink Category:Macedonian distilled drinks Category:Montenegrin distilled drinks Category:Religion and alcohol Category:Romanian distilled drinks Category:Serbian distilled drinks Category:Slovenian distilled drinks Category:Turkish distilled drinks Category:Kosovan cuisine