Slivovitza Traditional Bulgarian Plum Liqueur

Slivovitza (Slee-vo-vee-tsah) is a traditional Bulgarian liqueur or brandy. As with most traditions here there are many variations & mostly today the plum Rakia is made & called Slivovitza. This is almost a double made &  matured version for those who like a more matured tipple. We make our own Rakia every year with great success. Praised by Bulgarians which is an honour indeed. I make this with pre matured Rakia. This is practically the same as Visinata the traditional Romanian brandy also in this blog.
Use whatever weights you have but keep the percentage's the same.

My version;
4lb Plums
2lb Sugar for schnapps
2.5lbs Sugar for liqueur
32oz Rakia, Brandy or Vodka (Rakia or Brandy is better for this particular drink)
Wash the plums & keep the stone in. Fill a pot then cover with the sugar. Make sure all the plums are coated in the sugar. Cover the jar with muslin, if there is a hole in the lid place the lid on top if not, fix the muslin cloth so no flies can get in. Stir every day for two weeks to dissolve the sugar &  keep the plums coated. After a few days this will turn to a liquid as the fruit ferments. After two weeks fill the jar with Rakia & seal tightly. Leave to macerate for 3 months.
After 3 months remove the plums, strain the liquid through muslin cloth into clean sterile bottles (I triple filtered) & store. The sediment will settle again in the bottle so you will need to filter again. Carefully pour the liqueur through a cloth but leave the sediment in the bottom of the bottle
I found the plums of no use whole but the compote that is strained from the liqueur (1 litre from one pot) is gorgeous & this I have potted & refrigerated for use in desserts on sponge puddings or with ice cream. Lovely flavour, yes alcoholic but not gaggingly so :-) nice & sweet.

Cherry Brandy Recipe

We make our own Rakia (Bulgarian Brandy) here every year. I now have three seasons maturing away & have been reliably informed by both Bulgarian & English that it is Mnogo Dobre, very good :D This makes me very happy but it really is in the maturing! We have a very good Grape Rakia from 2009 & close behind is good Apple & Grape Rakia from October 2010. These come out when we entertain & I am building the collection, but with gallons of Grape 2011 & the next lot of grapes growing I felt I should be divewrsifying our cellar :)

So here are some recipes made with the less matured Rakia. They wont be ready for three months & then I may mature them for longer, unless off course our friends decide to drink us dry :D
You can off course use plain old shop bought rubbish ;-D ;-D ;-D

1lb Cherries washed
3oz Sugar per large jar
1/4 pint ish Rakia or Brandy or to top of jar
1lb sterilised airtight jar
Keep the pips in the cherries & place them in the jar, pour over the sugar & top with Rakia or Brandy.
Gently shake the jar to dissolve the sugar. Gently shake or roll if possible once or twice a day for two weeks making sure the sugar mixes well & eventually dissolves completely. You don't want a layer of sugar on the bottom of the jar! Leave to steep for 3 months then decant into sterillised bottles & use the fruit as you wish, on ice cream in cakes you can even make chocolates with them ;D