Slivovitz (Serbo-Croatian: šljivovica, Polish: śliwowica ; Romanian: ţuică, pălincă or şliboviţă) is a strong, colourless alcoholic beverage made of distilled fermented plum juice. It is similar to brandy and sometimes called plum brandy in English. It's one of the liquors known as raki or rakija.
The beverage originated in the Balkan Peninsula; the name derives from the South Slavic word for a plum, šljiva. Production is concentrated in Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and to a lesser extent in Austria, Germany, Italy and elsewhere.
It is the national drink of Serbia, where about 70% of plum production (average 424,300 tonnes per year; FAOStat, av 1991/2001) goes into slivovitz.
The alcohol content varies from 40-70% by volume.
Slivovitz, like some of the other rakijas, is kept in wooden barrels (oak or mulberry) for an extra aroma and the colour (golden brownish).
Rakija is supposed to be drunk from the special small glasses (0.3 to 0.5 dl).
