Horilka
Encyclopedia
Horilka is a Ukrainian
alcoholic beverage
. The word horilka may also be used in a generic sense in the Ukrainian language
to mean whisky
, or other strong spirit
s and etymologically is similar to the Ukrainian word for burning - hority. Home-distilled horilka, moonshine
, is called samogon . Horilka is usually distilled from grain
, potato
es, honey, sugar beets etc. One type of horilka, called pertsivka , is horilka with chili peppers. Historically, outside of Ukraine pertsivka is generally referred to when people speak of horilka, although pertsivka itself is just one type of horilka.
It is believed that horilka was not as strong as today with about 20 percent (40 proof).
However, today nearly all industrially produced horilka is 40% (80 proof).
, tertukha (strawberries), agrusivka (gooseberries), ternivka (blackthorn
berries), kalynivka (snowball tree
), shypshynnyk (rose hip
s), horobynivka (ashberries
), zubrivka (bison grass), vyshnyak or vyshnivka from cherries, slyv”yanka (plum
s), morelivka (apricot
s), tsytrynivka (lemon
s), mokrukha (orange
s and clove
s), mochena (citrus rind), kontabas (blackcurrant
buds). Horikhivka is flavoured with nut
s. Horilka is also made with honey
, mint
, or even milk
. In some cases whole fruits of red peppers (capsicum
) are put into the bottle, turning horilka into a sort of bitters
; it is then named horilka z pertsem, or pertsivka. (One should be mindful of the usage: horilka z pertsem refers to horilka bottled with hot chilli peppers, whereas pertsivka typically refers to horilka spiced with the essence of pepper. Horilka z pertsem always refers to a Ukrainian spirit. Pertsivka or Pertsovka may refer to Russian vodka.)
Most of these preparations are aged with fruit for several weeks or months, then strained or decanted. Some recipes call for the jars to be placed on the rooftop, for maximum bleaching by the sun. Many include the addition of home-made syrup for a strong liqueur
, others yield very dry, clear spirit. Some involve the fermentation
of fruit as well as addition of horilka. Preparations which are baked in an oven, in a pot sealed with bread dough, are called zapikanka, varenukha or palenka.
and in eastern Slovakia
and southern Poland
.
The word comes from the same root as the verb hority, ‘to burn’, similarly to Belarusian
harelka, south Russian
gorelka, Czech kořalka, and Slovak goralka, goržolka. It is considered to have come about following the Polish
example gorzałka, possibly as an abbreviation of a compound word like horile vyno (‘burning wine’; compare the older word horěloe vyno, , attested in 1511) or horila(ya) voda (‘burning water’; compare early Czech palena voda → palenka or Hungarian/Transylvanian palinka
). It may be an adaptation of the early Old High German der brannte Wein → Branntwein. Also compare English brandy
, short for brandywine, from Dutch
brandewijn, ‘burning wine’.
put into the bottle, turning horilka into a sort of bitters
. Sometimes perstsivka can be made also using honey, which is then called pertsivka z medom (honey-pepper flavoured horilka).
Nemiroff
is a Ukrainian brand actively promoting pepper horilka worldwide through the heavy use of product placement
in cinema
. The brand and company don't have long traditions but pertsivka production itself does.
A self-distilled alcoholic beverage, moonshine
, is called samohon (literally "self-run", "self-steered") and often associated with horilka.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
. The word horilka may also be used in a generic sense in the Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
to mean whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
, or other strong spirit
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
s and etymologically is similar to the Ukrainian word for burning - hority. Home-distilled horilka, moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
, is called samogon . Horilka is usually distilled from grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, honey, sugar beets etc. One type of horilka, called pertsivka , is horilka with chili peppers. Historically, outside of Ukraine pertsivka is generally referred to when people speak of horilka, although pertsivka itself is just one type of horilka.
It is believed that horilka was not as strong as today with about 20 percent (40 proof).
However, today nearly all industrially produced horilka is 40% (80 proof).
Derivatives
Ukrainian tradition has also produced various derivatives of horilka. Some of these are available as commercial products, but most are typically home-made. This includes various kinds of fruit infusion, nalyvka and spiced spotykach: malynivka made with raspberriesRaspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
, tertukha (strawberries), agrusivka (gooseberries), ternivka (blackthorn
Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
berries), kalynivka (snowball tree
Viburnum opulus
Viburnum opulus is a species of Viburnum, native to Europe and Asia. Some botanists also treat the closely related North American species Viburnum trilobum as a variety of it , or a subspecies, Viburnum opulus subsp...
), shypshynnyk (rose hip
Rose hip
The rose hip, or rose haw, is the fruit of the rose plant, that typically is red-to-orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form in spring, and ripen in late summer through autumn.-Usage:...
s), horobynivka (ashberries
Sorbus
Sorbus is a genus of about 100–200 species of trees and shrubs in the subfamily Maloideae of the Rose family Rosaceae. Species of Sorbus are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan, service tree, and mountain ash...
), zubrivka (bison grass), vyshnyak or vyshnivka from cherries, slyv”yanka (plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s), morelivka (apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
s), tsytrynivka (lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
s), mokrukha (orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
s and clove
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...
s), mochena (citrus rind), kontabas (blackcurrant
Blackcurrant
Blackcurrant, Ribes nigrum, is a species of Ribes berry native to central and northern Europe and northern Asia, and is a perennial....
buds). Horikhivka is flavoured with nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
s. Horilka is also made with honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, mint
Mentha
Mentha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae . The species are not clearly distinct and estimates of the number of species varies from 13 to 18. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally...
, or even milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
. In some cases whole fruits of red peppers (capsicum
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
) are put into the bottle, turning horilka into a sort of bitters
Bitters
A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...
; it is then named horilka z pertsem, or pertsivka. (One should be mindful of the usage: horilka z pertsem refers to horilka bottled with hot chilli peppers, whereas pertsivka typically refers to horilka spiced with the essence of pepper. Horilka z pertsem always refers to a Ukrainian spirit. Pertsivka or Pertsovka may refer to Russian vodka.)
Most of these preparations are aged with fruit for several weeks or months, then strained or decanted. Some recipes call for the jars to be placed on the rooftop, for maximum bleaching by the sun. Many include the addition of home-made syrup for a strong liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
, others yield very dry, clear spirit. Some involve the fermentation
Fermentation (food)
Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...
of fruit as well as addition of horilka. Preparations which are baked in an oven, in a pot sealed with bread dough, are called zapikanka, varenukha or palenka.
Traditions
Horilka plays a role in traditional weddings in UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and in eastern Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
and southern Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
And bring us a lot of horilka, but not of that fancy kind with raisins, or with any other such things — bring us horilka of the purest kind, give us that demon drink that makes us merry, playful and wild!
—Taras Bulba
Taras BulbaTaras Bulba is a romanticized historical novel by Nikolai Gogol. It tells the story of an old Zaporozhian Cossack, Taras Bulba, and his two sons, Andriy and Ostap. Taras’ sons studied at the Kiev Academy and return home...
, by Nikolai GogolNikolai GogolNikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
Etymology
The word horilka is attested in 1562 (горилка) and 1678 . Dialectic variants are harilka, horilash, horilytsya, horilets’, horilukha, z·horivka, zorivka, orilka, as well as Western Ukrainian horivka, horychka.The word comes from the same root as the verb hority, ‘to burn’, similarly to Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
harelka, south Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
gorelka, Czech kořalka, and Slovak goralka, goržolka. It is considered to have come about following the Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
example gorzałka, possibly as an abbreviation of a compound word like horile vyno (‘burning wine’; compare the older word horěloe vyno, , attested in 1511) or horila(ya) voda (‘burning water’; compare early Czech palena voda → palenka or Hungarian/Transylvanian palinka
Palinka
Pálinka or Palincă is a traditional fruit brandy made in regions of the Carpathian Basin. Modern commercial production occurs in Hungary, Romania and parts of Austria. It is commonly made from the fermentation of plums, but other fruits used include apricots, apples, pears, peaches and cherries...
). It may be an adaptation of the early Old High German der brannte Wein → Branntwein. Also compare English brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
, short for brandywine, from Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
brandewijn, ‘burning wine’.
Pertsivka
A pertsivka or horilka z pertsem (pepper flavoured horilka) is the most widely associated type of horilka outside of Ukraine. It is made with whole fruits of capsicumCapsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
put into the bottle, turning horilka into a sort of bitters
Bitters
A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...
. Sometimes perstsivka can be made also using honey, which is then called pertsivka z medom (honey-pepper flavoured horilka).
Nemiroff
Nemiroff
Nemiroff is a Ukrainian producer of alcoholic beverages, specializing in horilkas, vodkas and other spirits, based in the town of Nemyriv in Vinnytska oblast. The Nemiroff company itself was founded in 1992 by Stepan Glus, and has grown into a worldwide drink, now exported to over 50 countries...
is a Ukrainian brand actively promoting pepper horilka worldwide through the heavy use of product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
in cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. The brand and company don't have long traditions but pertsivka production itself does.
Production of Horilka
Horilkas are also often made with wheat, honey, mint, birch bud or even milk,.A self-distilled alcoholic beverage, moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
, is called samohon (literally "self-run", "self-steered") and often associated with horilka.
External links
- Horilka: Vodka of Ukraine—includes a gallery of labels
- Ukrainian Alcoholic Beverages