Brief History

Hungary has always been known for its delicious wines, it’s infamous golden wine from the 1800’s has marked its place in history. Palinka, however, stole the spotlight.

The first written mention of palinka comes from 1630 from the Slovakian word “palenka” and meant distilled fruits, cereals and wine at the same time. The first fruity palinka was born in 1658 in Hungary. From the 17–18th century, archaeologists found several types of equipment which prove that making palinka became a separate industry in Hungary. The word “pálinka” became part of the Hungarian language in the same period.

Source: dailynewshungary.com

Research shoes the first mentions of something resembling Palinka exist in records dating as far back to the 1330’s. Something called Aqua vitae reginae Hungariae, in the times of King Charles I of Hungary, the spirit was primarily for his wife, who suffered immense joint pain from what was probably arthritis.

Palinka was first produced in the middle of the 18th century and has evolved and come a long way since that time. Because it is considered the “fire water” or “moonshine” of Hungary, home distillers who probably invented the drink, were quickly outlawed.

Laws and rules as ridiculous as banning wheat and distilling at home on religious holidays paved the way for illegal Palinka. The governing body even forbade the use of bread-stuffs for distillation, but that’s when the use of fruits began.

This was mostly due to the fact that the church oversaw the production of all alcohol, but (silver lining) because they kept such good records those monks, we know that in Heves County they were brewing beer and distilling Pálinka in 1715.

An interesting fact is that in the 1900s, palinka had the nickname “coffee of the poor”.

An interesting fact is that in the 1900s, palinka had the nickname “coffee of the poor”.

Source: dailynewshungary.com

or the rest of the century demand rose, guidelines were made, and production began steadily rising. By 1850 Palinka was taxed and a monopoly was born. In 2004 Palinka gained a geographical indication, a PDO in the EU. Still, some regions of Hungary better than others for specific fruits, despite having local variations they are still all protected with individual detailed regulations.

No matter our excellent wines and other alcohols, Hungarians and foreigners buy more palinka each year than any other drink in Hungary. It is tasty, popular and historic at the same time which makes people love it more than any other drink they consume.