Rakia Named After Hero Prime Minister Foils Rakia Tax

I must say I am not surprised at all by this accolade put on Bulagria's recently elected Prime Minister. Boyko Borisov is now not only the number one man here but a Bulgarian cult hero for this, I did warn you on a previous post about Bulgaria's number one rakia fan. I would be surprised if he is nominated as a Saint further down the line if the curfew on tax on rakia sticks. It is a curfew as the EU steamroller will get their way in the end.

Bulgarian villagers have named their home-made rakia brandy 'Borisovka', playing on the name of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov to thank him for stopping parliament from raising taxes on alcohol.
Last month, the Balkan country's new centre-right government abandoned plans to raise alcohol taxes after public anger that this would threaten a centuries-old tradition of making wine and rakia at home.
But the parliament's budget commission later proposed a hike from 2010 and parliament was due to approve the increase on Wednesday when Borisov, a firefighter by training with a black belt in karate, stepped in and asked deputies to scrap the plan.
To express their gratitude, the villagers of Kapatovo, 170 km (100 miles) south of Sofia, decided to call their 2009 rakia 'Borisovka', emulating Russian vodka brand 'Putinka' that plays on the name of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
'The people of my village and other villages are jubilant. But not because we are drunkards, this must be clear. We simply want to preserve this tradition of making rakia at home,' Standart daily quoted Kapatovo's mayor Ognyan Kukov as saying.
Bulgarian families are allowed to produce 30 litres a year of rakia, a traditional grape brandy, without paying tax.

Source: www.forbes.com

No Hike On Bulgarian Home Made Rakia

Hot off the press. There is to be no increase in the tax on home made rakia and many thousands of Bulgarians were sweating on the result! We can sigh a breath of relieve now and enjoy another season of harvesting crops without fear of a hike. It doesn't make much difference to most anyway as they don't pay the tax due to date anyway here!

Here the report: (Source www.focus-fen.net)

MPs failed to adopt the increase of excise duty on spirits and beer while voting the amendments to the Excise Duty and Tax Warehouses Act. The proposal was excise of the ethyl alcohol to be increased from BGN 1100 to BGN 1250 per 1 hectoliter pure alcohol, and the excise duty on the ethyl alcohol (home-made brandy) produced in small distillatory to increase from BGN 550 to BGN 625 per 1 hectoliter pure alcohol.

Rakia and Aspirin - A Magical Cure For Aches

Aspirin + Rakia = Health

There is a Bulgarian medical recipe that cures aches and pains and of course involves rakia. This was found out when our Baba had back pains and we knew there was some 2 litres of rakia kept to one side from the last distilling. This was the initial 2 litres and carried a substantial alcohol content of 70%+. This is deemed toxic to drink and customarily it is used for medical purposes.

We found that 300ml of this strong rakia was taken and put in a small capped bottle, then three aspirin tablets were crushed and added to the spirit and diluted by shaking for a minute or so. This concoction was then applied by hand to the ailing area of the body and rubbed in gently at first with ever increasing pressure until it is all absorbed.

In essence this is a massage lotion and by golly it works wonders! The next morning Baba was up and about like a spring chicken and the aching back pains had gone. It never fails to amaze what rakia can do and unlike the lies advertised about that dire beer called ‘Heinekin’ rakia reaches parts other drinks can’t reach – With the help of aspirin of course.

Image by jypsygen via Flickr

Yet More Reasons For No Tax On Homemade Rakia

Yet more resistance from high level oln why no tax should be shoved in homemade rakia in Bulgaria. It is quite clear that this is a major political hot potato. What I can't understand is why the suggestion was made in the first place or maybe I can. This is how politic works of course. The proposal of the duty on rakia was a conspiracy purposely designed to result on political heroes who quell the motion. It is for political popularity and Boyko Borisov is leading the action against the conspiracy. There will be more scar mongering in the pipeline but the duty on rakia was never intended become law due to the masterplan for political popularity.

Bulgaria’s agriculture grew by 3% in the previous quarter, which makes it the only economy sector with growth amidst the economic crisis.

This National Statistical Institute data was cited Sunday by Agriculture Minister, Miroslav Naydenov, as an argument against the suggested hike of hard liquor excise.

On Thursday, the Parliamentary Budget Committee increased on second reading the alcohol and cigarettes’ excise duties from their values approved on first read. The hard liquor tax is proposed to be increased by BGN 0,72 per liter.

The increase also includes the traditional homemade grape and fruit brandy - “rakia” – where just the first 30 liters would be free of taxation.

Bulgaria’s Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, said Friday the increased alcohol tax would bring an additional BNG 60 M to the 2010 budget, which would immediately be invested into the education sector.

Agriculture Minister Naydenov, however, stated Sunday that the rise of the excise was hardly going to bring any additional revenues to the state budget.

In his words, the Bulgarian agricultural producers have been unable to sell 80 000 tons of grapes in 2009, and the rise of the excise will be an additional blow to them.

In addition, Naydenov said the whole issue with the homemade “rakia” had a psychological impact on the general population even though the suggested excise increase was not significant. He has made clear his conviction that the excise hike would be counterproductive.

Source: http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=110265

1 BGN Leva Tax On Commercial Rakia For Increased Government Revenue

I was shocked when I first saw this report thinking that the Bulgarian government had gone back on their word. I quickly realised that this applies to commercial rakia distillers and does not affect home distilled rakia - PHEW!

1 BGN Leva however does not sound a lot of money but when you put it in a percentage of the cost of a 1 litre of local commercial rakia it works out at over a 12% increase (i.e. 8 BGN Leva to 9 BGN Leva.) This may well of course mean that more Bulgarians will turn to distilling their own in view of this with a litre costing around 2 BGN even with buying the sliva or grapes (see my post on the cost of making rakia without your own grapes.)

In turn less Bulgarians will buy rakia off the shelf and the increase in duty will be a false economy. I agree that Bulgarian will never be put off Brandy (rakia) it is their heritage after all. It's bit like the British giving up curry (tongue in cheek!)

Higher excise will not make Bulgarians go off brandy, and will not fill the revenue: BranimirBotev

If the parliament passes the decision of the Commission for Budget and Finances for raising the excise of hard drinks the increase will be over BGN 1 per 1 liter of 40-degree alcohol. The sum is determined by the raise in the excise duty and VAT and also the trade discount, which is a percent of the quote. I am not sure that the increase would be passed by the parliament, chairman of the Association of Producers, Importers and Traders of Spirit Drinks (APITSD) Branimir Botev said in an interview with FOCUS News Agency.

PM’s statement on the issue was quite clear and he approached to the problem as expert in psychology of the Bulgarians. Bulgarian will never go off his brandy – he purely and simply will look to buy something with vague origin but will never tend to the revenue, he said.

Source: www.focus-fen.net

Taxing Home Made Rakia Is A False Economy

This recent report repeats to a tee my own thoughts on the taxing of rakia in Bulgaria. It is a false economy and unfair taxation will give a knee jerk to the government coffers as the reaction will be tax evasion nationwide. All Bulgarians are praying that these politicians do the sensible thing and not pass this law. If it is passed the politicians that put it through will have committed political suicide or worse!

The strong public opposition to price hikes prompted Prime Minister Boiko Borissov to axe the Finance Ministry proposal to increase the excise duty on spirits, but the plan has been resurrected by Parliament's budget committee.

The 2010 Budget bill was passed by Parliament at first reading on November 17. The budget committee, meeting to discuss amendments before the second reading, passed the proposal to increase the spirits excise duty by 13.6 per cent to 1.25 leva a litre of pure alcohol, which will translate into a 0.7 leva to 0.75 leva a bottle increase in the retail price of spirits, Bulgarian media reported.

The amendment was tabled by MP Kircho Dimitrov from the Blue Coalition, which is backing the minority government of Prime Minister Boiko Borissov, but is not represented in Cabinet. Stoyan Mavrodiev, from Borissov's GERB party, opposed the proposal saying that it was unlikely to pass on Parliament floor.

Mavrodiev said that the increased excise duty would push more spirits producers to stop paying taxes and operate in the grey economy.

Former finance minister Plamen Oresharski, now an MP, echoed the sentiment, saying that collection of excises from spirits producers was one of the most difficult task faced by the National Revenue Agency. He said that rather than boosting Budget revenue by 60 million leva, the higher excise would have the opposite effect and cause spirits makers to stop paying taxes altogether.

The excise on home-made rakiya, which is set at half the size of the regular duty, will become 625 leva for 1000 litres. It was the increase in the excise duty on home-made spirits, a sensitive subject in Bulgaria, where home-made wine and rakiya are centuries-old traditions, that provoked public discontent. Households are allowed to make up to 30 litres of rakiya a year without paying tax.

An amendment to increase the excise duty on beer was rejected by the budget committee.

Source: http://www.sofiaecho.com/2009/11/20/819018_bulgarian-mps-resurrect-proposal-to-raise-spirits-excise

Increase On Home Made Rakia Duty Proposed In Bulgaria

Here's the latest news on Rakia duty that was promised to be unchanged by Boris Boyko the Prime Minister. Well at least the first 30 litres of home distilled rakia anyway. This will not stop the production of over 30 litres and no duty being paid as is what happens currently. It is a tax increase of BGN 0.72 per litre over the 30 litres that is just a 'here say' law and not enforced. Bulgarian hasn't the infrastructure to cater for it especially the number of technically illegal home distillers in the country. At least on paper it will keep the puritans of the EU quiet for a while. Good one!

The Members of the Bulgarian Parliament offered Thursday the latest surprise regarding the alcohol and cigarettes tax increase.
The new excise duties were changed and increased on second read during the Budget Committee meeting from their values approved on first read. The move makes the Parliamentary Hall voting crucial for the final decision.
The hard liquor tax, according to the latest stakes, would increase by BGN 0,72 per liter. The increase also includes the traditional homemade grape and fruit brandy - “rakia” where just the first 30 liters would be free of taxation. Only beer tax remains unchanged.
The cigarette tax will be BGN 100 for 1 000 cigarettes plus 23% of the sales prices. This will reduce the price difference between cheaper and more expensive cigarettes, but all cigarettes will be sold for over BGN 4 for a pack.
The opposition voiced once again their opinion the price hike would lead to an increase of cigarette and alcohol contraband while tobacco makers believe the move would not lower the staggering number of smokers in the country and would rather lead to people rolling tobacco, smoking cheaper cigarettes, or buying them on the black market

Source: http://www.novinite.com

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Italian Rakia?

Italian grappa is made in exactly the same way as Bulgarian rakia. The finished product is almost a copy of the rakia, but worldwide it has a bigger following. I feel only because more is known about Italy than Bulgaria. The article fond here is interesting as the grappa does not seem to have the versatility that rakia has in Bulgaria. I feel that the Italians can learn quite a bit from Bulgarians about how to use the spirit not only for drinking. Perhaps reading past posts in this blog might lead the way!

ON A BUSINESS trip to the northern Italian town of Bassano del Grappa in the summer of 2000, Dennis Robertson and his wife, Tammy, took a shine to grappa. And though it didn't happen right away, it was the start of a whole new business with his boss.

Grappa (say GRAHP-pah) is the high-alcohol spirit that Italians traditionally serve as an after-dinner drink. It's made by distilling pomace — the skins, seeds and stems left after wine grapes are pressed — into a clear, colorless liquid that some refer to as aqua vitae and others as Italian firewater.

Once back to work as VP and general manager at Scrivanich Natural Stone in Woodinville, Robertson noticed that wineries in the area were regularly tossing out bins of pomace.

"The sweet smell of pressed wine grapes fills the air during the fall months," Robertson says. "I couldn't understand why this product was going to waste. In this 'green culture' it seemed a crime not to take advantage of it."

But the time wasn't right just yet for Robertson to build the quaint, family-oriented type of grapparias he had experienced in Bassano — tasting rooms where "the shelves were lined with uniquely shaped bottles of grappa, often bottled with a full fruit in them."

Licenses for "craft" or small-batch distilleries in Washington cost thousands of dollars, and antiquated state liquor laws left many wringing their hands.

Luckily for Robertson, Larry Scrivanich, his boss, shared his grappa dream. Scrivanich's family had a long love affair with the potent liquor, beginning on the Adriatic island of Susak, Croatia. Larry's dad, Pat, says his family owned one of six communal stills in the village. "We made a lot of wine but couldn't afford to buy flavored alcohol, so grappa was our alcohol," he recalls.

By 2008, the time for Larry and Jane Scrivanich and Dennis and Tammy Robertson to launch a grapparia in the heart of Woodinville wine country seemed ripe.

"Woodinville didn't need another winery, but a grapparia made sense," Larry reasoned. Besides, he says, "I'd grown up hearing my dad talk about grappa and unofficially making it, so I knew the process." And licensing fees had dropped to $100 a year. Looser state laws allowed distillers to make their spirits on site, offer samples to customers and sell their products directly out of their tasting rooms.

Soft Tail Spirits was granted its craft distillery license last fall — the third craft distillery licensed in the state and the first in Western Washington. In April, the tasting room/distillery opened up right between the stone business and DiStefano Winery. It's a sweet setup: DiStefano supplies high-quality pomace for the still and access to the ENOLAB for testing the pomace before it's processed.

Couples who happen by are doubly lucky.

"The wives look at granite countertops for their kitchens, and the guys drink our grappa," Larry Scrivanich says with a wink.

Grappa-making season coincides with winemakers' crush — mid-October through January — when pomace from Columbia Valley grapes is available. Larry Scrivanich credits Robertson with "doing mostly everything for Soft Tail, from licensing, construction, distillation and blending to graphic design and marketing."

Robertson, who makes about 700 gallons of grappa a year, considered a lot of things before ordering the company's traditional copper still online from Portugal.

They wanted the most traditional kind, yet one that could expand to produce vodka and whiskey. But in the end they chose a still that burns natural gas rather than the more traditional wood because it's tough to control temperature with wood.

The choice seems to have paid off, as Robertson's grappas are now sold at state liquor stores and in top restaurants such as The Herbfarm, Vertigo and TASTE.

And what's the reaction at the distillery?

"Italians come into the tasting room with a 'Show me what you got' sort of attitude," Larry Scrivanich says. "And then they walk out with a bottle of each of our grappas."

Braiden Rex-Johnson is the author of "Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining." Visit her online at www.NorthwestWiningandDining.com. John Lok is a Seattle Times staff photographer.

Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com

Buying Grapes For Rakia For Bulgarians Without Gardens

What do you do if you are in Bulgaria and haven’t your own grape production or your vines have failed you this year? Very simple, buy someone else’s grapes. There are so many people I know here who live in an high rise block apartment and just don’t have vines to harvest therefore now stock for rakia making. They still have their year supply of rakia before Christmas as it is made out of grapes that have been bought and some pretty good deals are around for grapes in the height of the harvesting season.

Even though I produced my own grapes, these were made into twine and I personally purchased 150 kg of grapes form a Bulgarian friend whose “Muscat” variety of grape was being sold at 30 stotinki per kilogram. This of course would add to the price of the finished rakia but even taking this into account the rakia produced would still be superior to commercial rakia and of course a fraction of the cost. This is why so many Bulgarians follow this ritual and fight hard to retain the custom that has been with them for as long as they can remember. The EU has other ideas and they have a massive fight on their hands even to the point of revolution over the issue, (Seriously.)

From a point of interest the cost of home produced rakia that include the purchase of grapes from a third party works out at around 2.22 BG Leva (£1 or US$1.50) per litre just for the drinking rakia. This would be reduced to around half (1.11 BG Leva (£0.50 or US$0.75)) if I used my own grape production in the process This compares to the retail cost of between 6 and 7 leva for the cheapest commercial rakia and in most Bulgarian’s opinion, ‘inferior’ compared to their own produced rakia that is created with tender love and affection.
Here are the costs of my grape rakia production this year:

• 150 kg Grapes 45 leva
• 20 kg sugar 28 leva
• Rakia house fees 15 leva
• Wood for the kazan 3 leva
• Salt 0.15 leva
• Bicarbonate of soda 2 leva
• Raspberry Flavoured Hard Boiled Sweets 2 leva
• Flour for sealing the kazan 0.50 leva
• Apples 3 leva
• Gas for transportation 2 leva

The total comes to around 100 BG leva and for the 45 litres of 44% rakia, plus 1.5 litres of 70% rakia for medicinal purposes and 10 litres of sub 40% rakia to be added to the next distilling session. You may think that this is a bargain if ever you saw one but this has increased overt he last few years and the 8 million Bulgarians who just don’t want to lose this massive perk of living here fell hard done by as their income has not risen in line with the increased costs.

DIT rakia making really is the spirit of Bulgaria in more than one sense. Without rakia making in Bulgaria is unimaginable for the vast majority of Bulgarians and the Prime Minister Boyko Borisov included! At least 20% of the conversations that take place at work are about rakia making.

Note: (This really should be read)
The 100 BG leva for this rakia production is equivalent of one week’s minimum wages in Bulgaria or nearly a month’s worth of pension payment so in relevant terms of the cost to the Bulgarian it is expensive just to put the cost in perspective.

Rakia Experience In Serbia

I just caught a blog of an experience form someone on a trip to Serbia. This expert was taken out as it refers to local rakia which was sampled. True to the point although it is drunk in all year round including the hot summer weather and not just as a winter warmer as well of course.

While there (Ed. Serbia) I sampled the local plum brandy or Rakia. Very tasty and boy ohh boy is it strong. You'll see old men sitting with their coffee, newspaper and cigarette in the morning and downing shots of Rakia. It is more than just an alcohol it is a tradition. I can tell it comes in handy when in such a cold country because it instantly warms you up.

Source: www.mauipirate.com

Illegal Rakia Stills Produce 50% Of Rakia In Bulgaria

I have to admit I see this goin on at ground level as many of my firend and indeed Bulagrian family here have home made still where rakia is brewed for domestic use of course. Event he law in villages are partisan to this going on, it's not doing anyone any harm as like I said it is for domestic use. The culprits are those who distill hundred of litres of rakia as an on going business and this is the area which should be arrested. Most Bulgarians who produce rakia do so as part of their self sufficient culture and so it should remain. He is a recent interview highlighting the problem, but too generalised for my liking. It makes out that all private stills are illegal, they aren't you can produce up to 30 litres a year for home use without duty being imposed. A Little sensationalising news if you ask me.

Illegal alcohol production leads to damage: chamber chairman

10 November 2009 | 09:00 | FOCUS News Agency

Sofia. We gave the customs and financial ministry documents that prove there are some 9,000 illegal entities in Bulgaria. 1,600 of them are the so-called village stills. The production of illegal alcohol leads to damage for the state and for everyone of us, because no excise duty is collected, Plamen Mollov, chairman of the National Vine and Wine Chamber, said in an interview with Bulgarian bTV television channel.
More than 50% of rakia (fruit brandy) is illegally produced in Bulgaria. The new government declared a war on contraband, he said.
We received a little bit more confidence that we can handle it in Bulgaria, he added.

Source: http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n199912

What Alcohol Level Should Rakia Be Drunk? Result of Poll

What Alcohol Level Should Rakia Be Drunk?

Less than 40%	2 (6%)
40%	7 (24%)
Between 41% and 44%	4 (13%)
Between 45% and 49%	7 (24%)
50% +	9 (31%)

Votes: 29

Weel the voting is closed and the results show that most, almost a third of voters feelt hat rakia should be drunk at an alcohol level of 50% plus! Most commercial rakia is sold at 40% and occasionally slighly higher. 24% of voters adhered to this standard of 40% of which commerical rakia bought migh have influenced.

I personally voted for between 41% and 44%, which is the alcohol content of my own home made rakia. This was the second lowest count.

No surprise that the lowest voe by far was for rakia at under 40%, butr still there were votes here.

A thank you to all who voted.

New Company Profile For Vinprom-Troyan AD

Image via Wikipedia

There is a new company profile published in Vinprom-Troyan who are the leading maker of commercial rakia in Bulgaria. They have led the way for decades in developing a consistent and quality rakia. This should not be compared to home produced rakia of course.

Here is the new profile. Vinprom-Troyan AD is a leading Bulgarian spirit distilling company. It specialises in the production of natural fruit rakiya (brandy) and other highly alcoholic beverages. The company sells its products both on the domestic market and abroad. Vinprom-Troyan is majority owned by Yutex Holding AD. The company profile contains corporate history, company overview, contact details, key management, shareholders and investors, a description of products and services, financial analysis, sales analysis, leading competitors and investment plans.

Other details of the company that are listed can be found here: www.companiesandmarkets.com

A Traveller's Experience of Rakia and Co.

There is a very good article that a couple of travellers had made on their journey through Bulgaria and other Balkan and Mediterranean countries. Their observations and experiences on the rakia and other national based spirits they have sampled is quite comprehensive.

I have just given a sample of the article and would recommend you visit the link given to see the full article and great pictures alongside. It gives a good account of information taken at ground level and of course first hand experience of the liquors including rakia of course.

Whether you call it Rakia, Ouzo, Mastika or Raki, a small war has been brewing for generations across countries and cultures. Most drinkers of the world are familiar with Greek Ouzo, and maybe even a few dedicated tipplers like the strong anise flavor. The reality is most of the Mediterranean and Balkans claim this liquor as their creation and national drink. Greece just has better marketing and distribution.

Hungarian Palinka

We were not fans of anise before this trip; we both hate licorice candies, and we have to say we are still not really excited about the flavor now. Granted, we cook with fennel or star anise and much of the food in this region uses these spices, often resulting in amazing dishes. However, after having an open mind and drinking these liquors, we are still not going to go buy bottles of it and proclaim ourselves converts to world of licorice and we will definitely not race to buy any Absinthe...............................

For the full article visit Jeremy & Eva Rees at http://forksandjets.com