Horilka

Horilka (Belarusian: гарэлка, Ukrainian: горілка) is a Ukrainian alcoholic beverage. The word horilka may also be used in a generic sense in the Ukrainian language to mean vodka or other strong spirits and etymologically is similar to the Ukrainian word for burning - hority. Home-distilled horilka, moonshine, is called samohon (Ukrainian: самогон, literally ‘self-distillate’ or ‘self-run’ - almost identical to the Polish: samogon). Horilka is usually distilled from grain (usually wheat or rye), though it can, exceptionally, also be distilled from potatoes, honey, sugar beets etc. One type of horilka, called pertsivka (Ukrainian: перцівка), is horilka with chili peppers. Historically, outside 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% alcohol by volume (40 proof). However, today nearly all industrially produced horilka is 40% (80 proof).

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 raspberries, tertukha (strawberries), agrusivka (gooseberries), ternivka (blackthorn berries), kalynivka (snowball tree), shypshynnyk (rose hips), horobynivka (ashberries), zubrivka (bison grass), vyshnyak or vyshnivka from cherries, slyv”yanka (plums), morelivka (apricots), tsytrynivka (lemons), mokrukha (oranges and cloves), mochena (citrus rind), kontabas (blackcurrant buds). Horikhivka is flavoured with nuts. Horilka is also made with honey (called Medova), 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, whereas Pertsivka or Pertsovka may refer to Russian vodka.) Medova z pertsem is the combination of horilka with chili peppers and honey.

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