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Every Country in Europe has its own boze. In the Balkans is called Rakja. It's popular in all the Balkan peninsula and in eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, U

Every Country in Europe has its own boze. In the Balkans is called Rakja. It's popular in all the Balkan peninsula and in eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Poland, etc. ) under different names In Italy there are similar fruit spirits (or fruit brandy) but the most popular one is Grappa, which is distilled pomace. Greece has their own, Outzo (made with grapes, which also contains anice), Raki and Tsipouro (pomace). In France the equivalent of Italian Grappa is called Marc, in Spain they have the Orujo. There are also a lot of spirits that were made in the past in Benedictine monasteries. They're all made in the same way and part of the large fruit brandy family, which is very popular across continental Europe.

yuppiepuppie 4y ago
Spain has Pacharán, Orujo, Casalla (Anís) to name a few, and many more from each individual region. Drinking is a long cultural tradition all over Europe, which is probably why you get these hyper-local variants. It makes for great conversation.
arlort 4y ago
> Every Country in Europe has its own boze I'm fairly certain that any area where a large enough community has been living for long enough has its own booze
- mejutoco 4y ago
  Agree, and probably cheese and cured meat/sausages.
  - red-iron-pine 4y ago
    Meats maybe. Much of the world is lactose intolerant though. The highest concentrations of lactose-tolerant folks are in Europe.
- peoplefromibiza 4y ago
  Yes, of course, but this article was specifically about Southern Europe and my comment was simply saying that the same kind of booze they talk about in the article, is common across all over Europe. USA doesn't have its own booze though. Vodka and Whisky are not native from the USA.
spiralx 4y ago
See now I don't think this is true, because AFAIK England doesn't have any native spirits, and nobody I've asked could think of one either. Gin came from the Dutch and it's introduction caused a literal "Gin epidemic" of people dying from it, which seems to support this point. Genuinely curious to be proven wrong here...
- bbatha 4y ago
  Gin had become its own thing by the time of the gin craze. The origins of the gin epidemic are varied but introduction from a foreign source is not one of them. In fact one of the major factors was Britain subsidizing the local gin industry and establishing protectionist laws that cut down trade for liquor from Continental Europe. 20 years of that plus the majority of Londoners losing their shirt in the South Seas panic was a recipe for disaster. It’s a fascinating case study with echoes to the current opioid crisis. For more information checkout, Gin: The Much Lamented Death of Madam Geneva. You could also make an argument for rum is native to Britain given it was likely in invented in Barbados, or another British sugar island as a direct result of colonization.
  - spiralx 4y ago
    This is the best answer I've had so far, thanks! And even better that book is available on Kindle Unlimited, thanks for the recommendation. > You could also make an argument for rum is native to Britain given it was likely in invented in Barbados, or another British sugar island as a direct result of colonization. That does make sense in fact and I think you've proven me wrong - technically at least - which is great, because my rum connoisseur friends did not propose that argument and I can tease them about it next time we hang out :)
- mejutoco 4y ago
  I’ll bite. If we want to be pedantic, England is not a country, but obviously we mean uk. It is difficult to prove this one wrong, without knowing how many years back you would accept before claiming it is from another country. I suspect all the other drinks could be traced to have origins in another country as well. This is further complicated by the fact that going back enough in time the country might not be considered the same country. I will try with this brandy: Rush https://www.brightwellvineyard.co.uk/ourshop/prod_7108518-Rush-English-Brandy.html https://www.brightwellvineyard.co.uk/ourshop/prod_7108518-Ru... If not, Tesco finest cognac I think fits the bill :) and we can settle on it https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295693637 https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295693637

yuppiepuppie 4y ago

Spain has Pacharán, Orujo, Casalla (Anís) to name a few, and many more from each individual region. Drinking is a long cultural tradition all over Europe, which is probably why you get these hyper-local variants. It makes for great conversation.

arlort 4y ago

> Every Country in Europe has its own boze I'm fairly certain that any area where a large enough community has been living for long enough has its own booze

mejutoco 4y ago
Agree, and probably cheese and cured meat/sausages.
- red-iron-pine 4y ago
  Meats maybe. Much of the world is lactose intolerant though. The highest concentrations of lactose-tolerant folks are in Europe.
peoplefromibiza 4y ago
Yes, of course, but this article was specifically about Southern Europe and my comment was simply saying that the same kind of booze they talk about in the article, is common across all over Europe. USA doesn't have its own booze though. Vodka and Whisky are not native from the USA.

spiralx 4y ago

See now I don't think this is true, because AFAIK England doesn't have any native spirits, and nobody I've asked could think of one either. Gin came from the Dutch and it's introduction caused a literal "Gin epidemic" of people dying from it, which seems to support this point. Genuinely curious to be proven wrong here...

bbatha 4y ago
Gin had become its own thing by the time of the gin craze. The origins of the gin epidemic are varied but introduction from a foreign source is not one of them. In fact one of the major factors was Britain subsidizing the local gin industry and establishing protectionist laws that cut down trade for liquor from Continental Europe. 20 years of that plus the majority of Londoners losing their shirt in the South Seas panic was a recipe for disaster. It’s a fascinating case study with echoes to the current opioid crisis. For more information checkout, Gin: The Much Lamented Death of Madam Geneva. You could also make an argument for rum is native to Britain given it was likely in invented in Barbados, or another British sugar island as a direct result of colonization.
- spiralx 4y ago
  This is the best answer I've had so far, thanks! And even better that book is available on Kindle Unlimited, thanks for the recommendation. > You could also make an argument for rum is native to Britain given it was likely in invented in Barbados, or another British sugar island as a direct result of colonization. That does make sense in fact and I think you've proven me wrong - technically at least - which is great, because my rum connoisseur friends did not propose that argument and I can tease them about it next time we hang out :)
mejutoco 4y ago
I’ll bite. If we want to be pedantic, England is not a country, but obviously we mean uk. It is difficult to prove this one wrong, without knowing how many years back you would accept before claiming it is from another country. I suspect all the other drinks could be traced to have origins in another country as well. This is further complicated by the fact that going back enough in time the country might not be considered the same country. I will try with this brandy: Rush https://www.brightwellvineyard.co.uk/ourshop/prod_7108518-Rush-English-Brandy.html https://www.brightwellvineyard.co.uk/ourshop/prod_7108518-Ru... If not, Tesco finest cognac I think fits the bill :) and we can settle on it https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295693637 https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295693637