View source for Pálenka

{{Short description|Czech and Slovak distilled alcohol, especially fruit brandy}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}
In the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]], '''pálenka''' is any kind of [[distilled beverage]] but especially [[fruit brandy]]. The term is often used generically for all kinds of liquors, including [[vodka]], [[gin]] and [[borovička]].<ref>{{cite web|title=palenka- English Translation|url=http://en.bab.la/dictionary/czech-english/palenka|accessdate=4 April 2012}}</ref> The word derives from the Slavic verb *''paliti'' ({{langx|cs|pálit}}, {{langx|sk|páliť}}) 'to burn; to distill'.
Similar products exist in [[Hungary]] under the name [[pálinka]] and in [[Romania]] under the name [[palincă]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Emen|first=Jake|date=2015-08-27|title=Brandy: A Beginner's Guide|url=https://www.eater.com/drinks/2015/8/27/9210409/brandy-a-beginners-guide|access-date=2021-11-26|website=Eater|language=en}}</ref> The product is also often compared to [[Rakia]], a spirit found throughout much of the [[Balkans]].
Most traditional types of pálenka in Moravia and Slovakia are [[slivovica]] (plum spirit), ražná (grain spirit), [[borovička]] (a special kind of liquor distilled from the berries of [[Juniperus communis]]), hruškovica (pear spirit), jablkovica (apple spirit). Popular are also čerešňovica (cherry spirit) and marhuľovica (apricot spirit). Very distinctive among pálenkas are the ones distilled from fermented forest berries, including raspberries, blueberries, wild black thorn (planá trnka) and cranberries. Drienkovica (a spirit distilled from [[Cornelian cherry|Cornelian cherries]] ([[Cornus mas]]) was popularized by the former Slovak president [[Rudolf Schuster]].
Less common now but historically popular distillates include jeřabinka (made from [[Rowan]] berries) and {{Interlanguage link multi|kontušovka|cs}} (made from vodka, and flavoured with star anise and other spices, and sweetened with honey). The latter was quite popular prior to the First World War, and features prominently in the works of [[Jaroslav Hašek]], [[Petr Bezruč]] and [[Sigmund Freud]].<ref>[http://czechabsinthe.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/lada-hasek-and-kontusovka/ Lada, Hašek and Kontušovka]</ref>
It was the title of a 2014 award-winning novel by Matěj Hořava, about a Czech-speaking minority community in a village in Romania in [[Banat]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hořava|first=Matěj|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/900560395|title=Pálenka : prózy z Banátu|date=2014|isbn=978-80-7491-404-1|edition=První vydání|location=Brno|oclc=900560395}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Ilustrace knihy Pálenka (Prózy z Banátu)|url=https://is.muni.cz/th/sfevd/?kod=C4720;lang=en;id=271163|publisher=Masaryk University, Faculty of Education|date=2018|first=Zuzana|last=Vývodová}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hořava|first=Matěj|others=Translated by Andrew Oakland|title=Distilled Spirits and Other Stories from the Banat - Asymptote|url=https://www.asymptotejournal.com/nonfiction/matej-horava-distilled-spirits-and-other-stories-from-the-banat/|access-date=2021-11-26|website=Asymptote Journal|language=en}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Pálinka]], Hungarian fruit spirit similar to pálenka
* [[Rakia]], fruit brandy common throughout Southeastern Europe
* [[Slivovitz]], popular plum brandy
* [[Țuică]], Romanian plum spirit
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palenka}}
[[Category:Fruit brandies]]
[[Category:Czech distilled drinks]]