10 Most Popular Drinks In Serbia
By: Ling Learn Languages
Tags: Language, Language Learning, Drinks, Education, Drinking

Every country in the world has its own taste and smell, not only when it comes to food but also when we talk about alcoholic beverages. The boiling blood of people from Serbia is connected with the intensity of alcohol, with which they rejoice, celebrate, cry, and part.

So, let’s see what are 10 most popular drinks in Serbia:

Identitet Balkana- Rakija (Identity Of Balkans — Brandy)

If a drink is in the rank of the national treasure of almost every country in the Balkans, primarily Serbia, then it is Balkan whiskey — Rakija.

The word rakija is of Arabic origin and comes from the word “al-rak.” The Turks brought rakija to the Balkans during the 15th century.

The fruit from which rakija is made is the following: šljiv (plum), kajsija (apricot), breskva (peach), dud (mulberry), kruška (pear), jabuka (apple), dunja (quince),smokva (fig), višnja (sour cherry), trešnja (cherry), malina (raspberry), kupina (blackberry), grožđe (grape).

To improve the taste and to make it more like a medicine. The producers add medicinal herbs, hazelnuts, honey, nuts when preparing rakijaIn Japan, rakija is made from rice and is called sake. Rakija can also be obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of potatoes or rye.

The name of the rakija is related to the fruit from which it is made — dunjevača, lozovača, šljivovica, kajsijevača, višnjevača, etc. Rakija is a transparent drink, if it has the color of gold, it means that it stood in barrels made of oak wood.

The strength of rakija is determined by an alcohol meter, and in everyday speech, it is expressed in gradima. They are the same as the volume percentage — the number of liters of pure ethanol contained in 100 liters of alcoholic beverages.

Rakija is obtained by single or double distillation of the mass obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of fruits, rice, potatoes, etc.

After the first distillation, they got rakija with a lower percentage of alcohol (30%), known as “meka” rakija (soft brandy). The second distillation increases the percentage of alcohol (up to 60%) and this rakija is popularly called “prepečenica.” Rakija that is not of good quality is known in Serbia as “brlja.”

Rakija in Serbia is ”peče” (baked) in a “veseloj mašini” (“cheerful machine”) which is usually made of copper and is called the “Kazan za pečenje rakije” (Cauldron for roasting brandy), under whose other parts of the so-called “Lampek” condensation collects and through whose pipe it flows directly into the barrels.

Tri Boje Srbije — Vino (Three Colors Of Serbia — Wine)

Wine is an alcoholic beverage obtained by complete or incomplete fermentation of grapes. The science that deals with the study of wine are called enologija (enology), and the people who study the tastes of wine are called somelieri (sommeliers).

Many wines produced in Serbia, Croatia, and Macedonia are highly valued in the world. Wines are divided according to color into red (red), white (white) and pink (rose), sparkling, and dessert.

For red in these areas, the incorrect term red wine is often used.

According to the percentage of sugar, wines are divided into dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, and sweet wines.

Wines are also divided according to the quality of grapes grown in vineyards — table wines, table wines with a label of controlled quality, quality wines with a label of controlled quality, premium wines with a label of controlled quality, predicate, archival, unique, and sparkling wines (champagne).

Stono vino (Table wine) is produced from several grape varieties.

Svetla I Tamna Srbia — Pivo (Light And Dark Serbia — Beer)

If anyone is dreaming about “fontanama piva” (beer fountains), they are people from Serbia. Rarely does anything happen in Serbia without a good beer?

The history of piva -(beer) begins in the Neolithic. The first written traces are related to the Sumerian civilization. During the Middle Ages, Catholic monks made beer and used it during Lent. So if a drink, in addition to water, connected all the nations and countries of this world centuries ago, then it is beer.

Pivo is a low-alcohol beverage produced by the process of alcoholic fermentation from slad (malt), hmelj (hops), voda (water) and pivskog kvasca (brewer’s yeast). Barley, or malt, is the basis for making beer, but some beers are made from other raw materials such as kukuruz (corn), pšenica (wheat), and raž (rye).

Beer is divided into light, dark and cloudy beers according to color. Black beers taste like caramel or dark chocolate.

Beers are divided according to the amount of alcohol they contain into bezalkoholno (non-alcoholic) — 0.5% alcohol, stadardna (standard) — from 3 to 5% alcohol), jaka (strong) — over 5% alcohol) and ječmena (barley) — over 8% alcohol.

According to the share of barley extract, beers are divided into kaka (light) — pleasant during the summer heat, standardna ili stona (standard or table), specijalna ili piva sa punim ukusom (special or bears with full taste), jaka (strong) and ječmena (barley) beer. Boiling at lower temperatures yields lager or lower fermentation beer, and fermentation yields ale or ale at high temperatures.

Most Popular Imported Drinks In Serbia

Despite our well-known, always loved and appreciated Serbian drinks, people often like to order and try some foreign drinks. However, such diversity simply entices us to try something else, something new, and evaluate the product of another nation and culture. Here are just some of the most commonly bought and ordered foreign drinks in our country:

Viski (Whiskey)

Older people have already tried a bunch of different drinks during their life and built their taste. Also, they are no longer in a hurry, they are not competing with anyone, and they have already achieved something. That is why they can afford a good, quality, strong drink that they will drink lightly with pleasure. Those more than other groups prefer good viski (whiskey) like Johnnie Walker, Ballantines, Jack Daniels, and those with a deeper pocket Chivas. You will see an older man ordering some kind of konjak (brandy) like Napoleon Ballenat, unlike a younger man who will order it may be just to try it.

Drinks For Young People

The younger generations are always looking for something new and exciting.

Young people drink whiskey more on special occasions. In contrast, votka (vodka), tekila (tequila), and similar drinks that are drunk in interesting ways are much closer to them because they have not yet built their taste and like to change and try something new constantly.

Smirnoff is a popular vodka, it is of Russian origin, and it is known that Russians are the best for it. As the Russians are for vodka, so are the Mexicans for tequila. That is why Sierra is very often ordered, Two Fingers and Sauza Silver tequila. Jagermeister is also most often ordered by a young population.

Because of its reputation for causing hallucinations and the attractive traditional way of serving and consuming, apsent (Absinthe) is definitely interesting to young people. In fact, what makes it special, apart from the striking green color after which it was nicknamed “Green Fairy”, is not a hallucinogen, but an alcohol content of up to 74%. That is still enough to confuse the mind.

Final Thoughts

Tastes for drink and food indeed differ, and every country has its own specialties. But, the fact is that Serbian national drinks and food are things that can’t be retold…you must taste them and simply spend some time in Serbia and make your memorable moments.

While you are in Serbia, you need to learn to say “Živeli” (Cheers), what food to order, and stuff like that. Ling App can help you with that so you can learn the Serbian language in an easy and fun way.