Croatian Alcohol: Rakia, Pelinkovac and Other Drinks to Try

Rakija and rakia: Croatia's fruit brandy

Rakija is the umbrella word for Croatian fruit brandy, and it is the drink most likely to be offered in a small glass at the start or end of a meal. It is distilled from fruit rather than grain, so the flavour follows whatever grew locally: plum, grape, pear, apricot or quince in inland areas, grape pomace and figs along the coast. It is sipped slowly in measures of a few centilitres, not mixed into long drinks.

The strength is the thing to respect. Rakija is a distilled spirit, and it can carry as much alcohol as a double measure of spirits in a glass that looks modest. In a konoba it may arrive before the food as a welcome pour or after it as a digestive, and refusing is perfectly normal. Keep the pace slow and treat it as a sipping drink, not a toast-and-down-it drink.

One honeyed variant deserves its own name: medica, a rakija steeped or sweetened with honey so that it drinks softer and sweeter than the plain fruit brandies. It is a good first rakija if you find the dry, fiery ones hard going, and it belongs to the same family as the rest.

Šljivovica and kruškovac: plum and pear

These two are constantly confused because both come from tree fruit, but they are different drinks. Šljivovica is a plum brandy, clear to golden and dry-ish, distilled from plums and drunk as a rakija in small measures. Kruškovac is a pear liqueur, sweet, lower in alcohol and often served well chilled in a small glass, sometimes over ice. Order the first if you want a spirit, the second if you want something closer to a dessert.

Pelinkovac: the bitter herbal liqueur

Pelinkovac is a dark, bitter herbal liqueur built on wormwood and a blend of other botanicals, closer in character to a bitter amaro than to a sweet fruit liqueur. It is traditionally taken as an aperitif or digestive in a small glass, sometimes over ice, and the first sip is meant to be bracing rather than pleasant. If you like Campari or a dark amaro, you will recognise the register immediately.

Beyond the neat serve, pelinkovac also turns up in a mixed drink called štrukani pelinkovac, which lengthens the liqueur and softens its bitterness. Treat it as a slower, more bitter alternative to a spritz rather than as a sweet cocktail.

The bitter-versus-sweet Split matters when you order. Pelinkovac sits firmly on the bitter side, so a traveller expecting a cherry or walnut liqueur will be surprised by the first mouthful. Ask to see the bottle or taste a small measure before committing to a full glass if the menu is unclear.

Orahovac: the walnut liqueur

Orahovac is the sweet counterweight to pelinkovac: a walnut liqueur, dark brown and syrupy, with a nutty, slightly bitter edge under the sugar. It is served in a small glass after the meal. It is one of the traditional Croatian liqueurs most often kept at home as well as in konobe, and it makes an easy gift bottle.

Because it is sweet and fairly strong, it works best as a single glass to finish rather than something to drink through an evening. If you want it at its best, take it with coffee rather than a creamy dessert, which can make it taste flat by comparison.

Maraschino and Maraska: the cherry liqueur from Zadar

Maraschino is a clear cherry liqueur made from the marasca cherry, a small, sour variety, and the firm most associated with it is Maraska of Zadar on the Dalmatian coast. It is sweet but dry-edged, and it is sipped neat in a small glass rather than poured over ice cream. The clear colour surprises people who expect a red cherry drink.

Maraska is the name to look for in shops if you want the genuine Zadar article, and its range extends well beyond Maraschino to other traditional liqueurs. Since the distillery sits in Zadar, it is worth planning a drink alongside the food; our guide to what to eat in Zadar covers the dishes. A bottle travels well and takes up little luggage space, which makes it one of the more sensible edible souvenirs from the Dalmatian coast.

Gemišt and bevanda: wine with water

Gemišt is white wine mixed with sparkling mineral water, and bevanda is the still-water version, usually made with red wine. Both are long, low-strength drinks built for hot afternoons and lunch tables, and both are considered perfectly normal ways to drink wine rather than a dilution of it. The rough rule is roughly half and half, adjusted to taste.

Ordering one is simple: ask for gemišt at a konoba and you will usually get a glass of local white topped up with sparkling water. Bevanda follows the same pattern with still water and red wine, and in summer it is the more refreshing of the two. Both are far lower in alcohol than the neat spirits above, which makes them the sensible choice if you are drinking through a long meal.

Bikla is another mixed drink in the same family, a wine-and-water combination worth trying if you like the idea but want a different ratio or base. It is a light, thirst-quenching drink rather than a serious one, and it fits the same lunchtime setting as a gemišt.

Teranino: the Istrian teran drink

Teranino is a sweet Istrian liqueur built on teran, the region's red wine, and it comes across as a dark, fruity, gently bitter drink taken in small glasses after a meal. A teranino spritz lengthens it with something sparkling and lightens the sweetness, which makes it a better choice on a warm evening than the neat liqueur. Both are Istrian specialities, so they make sense with food from that peninsula.

How to order without overdoing it

The main trap with Croatian alcohol is the sequence: a welcome rakija, a gemišt at lunch and a pelinkovac after dinner can add up to far more alcohol than the individual servings suggest. Pick one of the three roles for the evening, either the aperitif, the meal drink or the digestive, and stick to it. The mixed wine drinks are the easiest default for a long lunch because they are low in strength and made to be sipped slowly.

For the table, check what is on offer at the bar or on a written drinks list, and ask for a smaller measure if the glass looks generous. Water alongside is standard practice, and a glass of Croatian beer or a soft drink is just as acceptable with a meal. There is no expectation that you finish the bottle or keep pace with the table.

A soft option worth knowing is Cedevita, a Croatian powdered drink mixed with water and served in cafés and konobe, which suits anyone not drinking alcohol at all. It comes in fruit flavours and is a normal order at a midday table, not a children-only fallback.

Buying bottles to take home

Shop for Croatian alcohol in supermarkets, airports and producer shops rather than relying on market stalls, and read the label for the drink type, the fruit or botanical named and the strength. Maraska is the most recognisable name for Maraschino and for the traditional liqueur range, including pelinkovac, orahovac and kruškovac, so the bottles are easy to identify on a shelf.

For gifts, the sweet liqueurs travel better than the high-strength brandies in terms of mass appeal, and small bottles let you bring back several without heavy luggage. A bottle of orahovac or kruškovac is a safe present for someone who does not know Croatian drinks, while pelinkovac is for the drinker who already likes bitter things. Check the bottle is sealed and well wrapped before packing it in checked luggage.

Prices in Croatia are quoted in euros and vary by shop, bottle size and brand, so compare on the shelf rather than assuming airport prices are lower. Retail listings abroad are no guide to what a bottle costs in Croatia, and duty-free is not automatically the cheapest place to buy.

Which Croatian drink should you start with?

Start with a gemišt at lunch, a small rakija or medica if one is offered, and an orahovac or Maraschino to finish if you want something sweet. Leave pelinkovac for the moment you feel like a bitter aperitif, and treat teranino as an Istrian speciality to try on that coast. That order gives you the full range without drinking more than you meant to.

If you are buying one bottle to take home, Maraschino from Maraska is the most unmistakably Croatian choice and the easiest to explain to friends. Add a small orahovac if you want a second, sweeter bottle for dessert.