Rakia Making - The Process

Rakia Making - The Process

Rakia spirit in Bulgaria is in every home and doesn't just sit there for months on end it is drunk regularly in Bulgaria. It is the National drink and is very much a big part of everyday life here. Without Rakia Bulgaria certainly wouldn't be the same like a body without a soul. The combination of Rakia and Salad is unsurpassed in perfect compliment and the favourite or essential part of the kitchen table layout in Bulgaria.

A Spirit To Be Proud Of

Rakia has been homemade in Bulgaria for generations as had the very much integrated wine process. Who has the best rakia in towns and villages? This is a question repeatedly asked in every household. And in turn every household know the answer to that!

Just on that evidence the Bulgarian are indeed very proud of the rakia they process from start to finish. Their shyness in promoting it and showing it off by literally forcing more than a sample upon guests is legendary.

Most rakia bought from supermarket, shops and drunk in restaurants and bars is commercially made and essentially made from grapes. Many good brands of grape rakia are about, along with a few commercial brands made from sliva, (plum.) There remains an enormous market in Bulgaria for this and you will see bars, shops and supermarkets in Bulgaria where the shelves have a greater selection of rakia than any other type of drink. But far more interesting is the home made rakia, where standards and quality are as diverse as you could imagine. It is very common through the homemade process on occasions to exceed the quality of top brand names and Bulgarian's by nature would back this up on every occasion stating that their homemade rakia is far better than anything in the commercial market! Well they are very proud of their spirit!

The Process of 'Homemade Rakia'

The Base Ingredients

Rakia is basically made from wine which is then distilled into the rakia spirit. There are many types of rakia with different base ingredients. The bulk of rakia is made from the sliva fruit, (plum). You will see countless sliva trees everywhere you look in Bulgaria. The fruit comes in many colours from yellow through to pink and on to black. The size of the fruit also varies from a small marble size to a large egg size. Rakia is also made from grapes which usually come from the sediment left over from the wine making. The fermenting process is started up again by adding more sugar and water. Rakia is also made from apples, pears, melons and other fruits that are not suitable eaten or bottled. In essence the rakia is made from waste ingredients. The aim is to get a strong base wine to distill with the intention of getting a strong healthy rakia spirit from this.

From The Fruit to the Barrel

It is a great joy and occasion to go and gather the sliva on a lovely dry summer day at the point where they are about to drop from the trees from the weight of their ripeness. Bulgarians being so practical, do not pick the fruits but place a sheet under the trees, climb up the tree then violently shake the branches to a shower of sliva which lands on the sheet. The sheet is gathered up and the sliver picked over for twigs and leaf debris.

This is then taken to an outbuilding where the barrel is now filled to 1/3 full of sliva this is topped up with a ratio of 3 litres of water to every 1 kg of sugar. Usually, with a 240 litre barrel there will have to be added 75 litres of water and 25 kg of sugar. The mixture is then stirred and the fruits crushed by hand at least twice a day for the next three week with the fermentation starting almost immediately in the warm August weather.

Once the mixture is no longer bubbling it is technically wine but not very nice to drink, in fact awful but this is the stuff from which rakia is made.

The Distilling Houses

In every village and town there are rakia houses specially built for rakia making for the community. There can be anything from one to five stills in one house and the smell once experienced tells you exactly where you are. These houses are managed by a responsible person, usually a man and is governed by the Mayor who grants permission for the rakia to be made ensuring that it does not get abused and is solely for personal consumption.

The reservation has to be booked well in advance as from August through to the end of November rakia is being processed in these heavily used rakia houses. There is a charge of anything from 10 - 15 leva for the use of a still and the equipment there. A receipt is given, in triplicate of course, which is also accountable to the Mayor. Once booked, the day is looked forward to immensely as it is another excuse for eating, drinking, talking and the anticipation of another year??™s worth of rakia. This is also a day off where there would be no time for work anywhere

Distilling Day Preparations

The day has arrived but much preparation has to be made the day before. The use of the rakia house is one thing, but everything has to be supplied and taken to the rakia house by trailer of cart. For a start, how do you lift a 240 litres barrel of wine onto a trailer or cart?

Bulgarians don't, another empty barrel is placed on the cart and a bucket is used to transfer the wine from one to the other. This is also a team effort where at least two, and in some case up to five, help with trailer or cart being shared by more than one family this is quite common! (My neighbour gives a helping hand in the picture.)

There is the wood for the fire which has to be provided which also has to be taken to the rakia house this is loaded up around the barrel jamming it against the barrel to stop it toppling over on the rough Bulgarian tracks en route to the house. Then there is the flour that has also to be taken to use as a seal for the copper stills.

Distilling Starts Here

The wine base is ready and outside the rakia house for the distilling operation. The still is filled with a little coriander seed and other, 'family secret' additions. Once the wine has been transferred by a chain of helpers with buckets loads transported from the barrel to the still, the flour, which is mixed with a little water to make a dough is made. This then is moulded around the still seals and pipes to make it air tight.

The fire is lit and the waiting is on. It takes about an hour before the wine is hot enough to produce steam which is forced through the sealed pipes into the cooling condensing system with the result being pure rakia spirit. In the meantime the fire heating the wine is used to cook food on a grate whilst the waiting goes on and other rakia is sampled from other users, beer and wine is brought in along with other foods from the wives who set up a picnic in the house.

Rakia Finally Arrives!

The first drops of rakia are eventually produced then turning into a trickle then a continuous stream of spirit that runs into a bucket from the final outlet of the distilling system. This is then transferred into a plastic container which is measured every so often for their alcohol content. The first samples are usually between 65-70% proof but as the process carries on it drops to 50%. Some of the 70% plus is kept to one side in a smaller bottle for medicinal purposes, something that creates a new chapter of uses of rakia.


The last trickles can be as low as 25-30% and are stored separately as it is not good enough to drink and add to the next batch of distilling, in affect being double distilled. Nothing is wasted in Bulgaria! (As you can see in the picture, my rakia averaged out at around 45% - 50%.) From a 240 litre barrel of sliver wine there should result in about 30 litres of rakia whose overall proof should be around 45-55%. The optimum drinking proof level is between 45-50% and mineral water is added to bring the alcohol level lower.

The fresh rakia is now back at home, but it is another three weeks waiting that is required before it becomes drinkable. Peeled and cut apples are put in a netted bag and a certain type of wood placed in the rakia barrel. This is to change the colour from crystal clear 'vodka' looking spirit to transform into a distinctly rakia smokey coloured spirit.

And There's More

There are two rakia making sessions during the year, the sliva rakia taking place in August to September and the grape rakia from the end of September to the end of November. The grape rakia is drunk more commonly on a commercial basis but home made sliva is a very much prized item and drunk on special occasions rather than everyday utility drinking of the so called 'commercial inferior' grape type.

Rakia is a 'Way of Life' in Bulgaria

Rakia making is part of the way of life with Bulgarians and with the villages and smaller towns it is part of their seasonal routine. It is now big news that this homemade rakia making will become a thing of the past with Bulgaria's inclusion in the European Union. Officially, this will be the end of homemade rakia in Bulgaria, but the art will still go on in Bulgaria underground especially in the more remote parts where the ways and law are different.