Borovička (; also known as Juniper brandy) is a Slovak

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

flavoured with

juniper berries A juniper berry is the female seed cone produced by the various species of junipers. It is not a true berry, but a cone with unusually fleshy and merged scales, which gives it a berry-like appearance. The cones from a handful of species, especial ...

. It is characterised by its clearhttp://www.alkoholy.wz.cz/alkoholy/B.htm (Slovak) or golden colour, and a taste similar to that of dry gin. It is especially popular in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Today's commercially produced borovička typically contains about 40%

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

or 80

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a con ...

, but can reach as high as 50 to 70% alcohol content. As a benchmark, the minimum alcohol amount required by law in Slovakia is 35%. Its flavour, although much stronger, resembles that of gin. Similar, but differently made drinks known in south Slavic countries include

brinjevec Brinjevec (or ''Brinovec'') is a strong alcoholic drink, produced in the Karst and Brkini regions in Slovenia. It is re-distilled from ground and fermented juniper berries only and it differs from similar drinks that have different alcohol bases wi ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

(''brin'' means juniper in Slovene) and klekovača in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

(''kleka'' means juniper in Serbian). Other similar drinks include several types of

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis''). Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...

Jenever Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavored traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium and adjoining areas in northern France an ...

. International Juniper Brandy Day is celebrated annually on 24th of June.

History

According to ''The Dictionary of the Slovak Language'', ''borovička'' derives its name from the Slovak word for juniper, ''borievka''. Borovička harks back to the 16th century, when this beverage was produced in the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Liptov Liptov () is a historical and geographical region in central Slovakia with around 140,000 inhabitants. The area is also known by the German name ''Liptau'', the Hungarian ''Liptó'', the Latin name ''Liptovium'' and the Polish ''Liptów''. Etymo ...

, today part of central

. It was exported throughout the whole Habsburg monarchy, particularly to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. It was transported southward principally via

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrel ...

s floating down the river

Váh The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...

.http://www.plte.szm.sk/historia.html (Slovak)

Major brands

St. Nicolaus
(Slovakia)
Frucona - Spišská Borovička
(Slovakia)
Frucona - Borovičkový destilát 55%
(Slovakia)
Gas Família - Spiš original borovička
(Slovakia)
Gas Família - Spišská borovička
(Slovakia)
Old Herold
(Slovakia)
Rudolf Jelínek
(Czech Republic)

Other

*Borovnička is a name for a

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

made from blueberry in Croatia.

References and footnotes

*https://www.robto.online/borovicka-destillate-only-in-slovakia/ Gins Slovak distilled drinks Czech distilled drinks Slovak cuisine {{Distilled-drink-stub