Palinka

Bill brought back some plum and apricot Palinka - one for me and one for Fiona. It is a lovely Hungarian aqua vitae. Under the EU they are now protected. The production of Hungarian pálinka is regulated by local law LXXIII of 2008, often referred to as "pálinka law", which is based on the regulation of generic fruit spirits of the European Union. An alcoholic beverage may be called pálinka if:
1. it is fermented exclusively from fruits (excluding concentrates and dried fruits) grown in Hungary or indigenous to the Carpathian Basin region, and free of additional ingredients
2. is grown, distilled and bottled in Hungary,
3. is not rectified higher than 86%, and is bottled with at least 37,5% ABV.

While pálinka is traditionally made from a mash of ripe fruits, the law doesn't control the addition of non-concentrated fruit juice, and explicitly allows the use of fruit pulp. Dried fruits are excluded from the mash only, and may be used in the ageing process.

As a consequence of this regulation, a whole family of popular Hungarian products was rebranded as "szeszes ital" (spirit drinks).

In 2004 the European Union accepted pálinka as a Hungarian speciality, and hence its production is limited to Hungary (and four provinces of Austria for pálinka made from apricot). This caused some confusion in neighbouring countries, as some claimed that producers of fruit brandies would have to pay a royalty to Hungary. This is however not the case. It is the brand "pálinka" that is protected by Hungarian and EU law, hence producers outside of Hungary are not allowed to use the brand "pálinka" for their products, but they are free to produce fruit brandies and sell them under different names. This is in spite of the drink being historically distilled in most of historical Hungary, many regions of which fall outside the present-day borders.