The diversity and availability of fruit in the valley of the river Drina and the untouched and very often wild nature in the mountains are a major contributing factor to the production of rakia in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Even though the country suffered greatly from the war, this traditional, old craft of producing rakia has managed to survive throughout time and it is still widely practiced.
The production of homemade rakia for private use is of course very popular among the population. At the same time, especially recently, a lot of high quality rakia for non-private used is produced.
Generally, the grape based Loza is mostly produced as homemade rakia for private used. The focus of the production for non-private use as well as the consumer preferences is on the other kinds of fruit based rakia. As already mentioned above, due to the relatively vast diversity and availability of fruit, there is also a reasonable diversity of kinds of rakia produced as well as some very rare and “exotic” kinds with excellent quality like for instance rakia made out of wild pears (divlja kruška). Among the popular ones you may find rakia made out of plums, quince , apricot, pears, grape, apple, etc.
When you visit or travel through the gorgeous mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina, do make sure that you also ask around and experience also this side of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s heritage. Certainly, the small restaurants with great view as well as the ones in Trebinje, Višegrad, Mostar and Sarajevo, but also the local people around the corner will give you a good recommendation about the locally available specialties.
