Indulgences

1. Rakija

   Rakija — fruit spirit

   Usage

   A strong distilled spirit, usually about 40% and, when homemade (domaća rakija), sometimes 50–60%. It comes neat in a small glass, offered before a meal or as a greeting to a guest. Sale to minors is prohibited by law, and late at night shop sales of alcohol are restricted as well

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; the accusative in an order is "rakiju". What it is made from is said with "rakija od" plus the genitive

2. Lozovača

   Grape rakija

   Usage

   Rakija made from grapes, the kind you meet most often on the coast, also called simply "loza". It is colourless and unherbed, so it tastes plainer than travarica

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, formed from "loza" (vine) with the suffix -ovača, the standard way of naming a spirit after what it is made from. Keep both the "č" and the "ž"

3. Komovica

   Pomace brandy

   Usage

   Rakija distilled from the skins and pips left after pressing wine (the "kom") — the local counterpart of Italian grappa

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, from "kom" (pomace) plus the suffix -ovica

4. Šljivovica

   Plum rakija

   Usage

   Rakija from plums ("šljiva"), at home in the inland regions where the plum grows

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, from "šljiva" (plum) plus -ovica. It begins with "š", and the digraph "lj" is one sound and is never split

5. Travarica

   Herb rakija

   Usage

   Rakija steeped with herbs ("trava"), poured in a small glass before or after a meal in Dalmatian homes and konobas. Which herbs go in is the maker's own

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, from "trava" (herb, grass) plus -arica

6. Biska

   Mistletoe rakija from Istria

   Usage

   Rakija infused with mistletoe, an Istrian speciality found in inland village konobas and souvenir shops

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; the one made with mistletoe

7. Medica

   Honey rakija

   Usage

   Rakija sweetened with honey. It goes down easily for its strength, which makes it easy to misjudge; it is also called medovača

   Grammar Note

   Feminine, built on "med" (honey)

8. Maraskino

   Maraschino — marasca cherry liqueur

   Usage

   A clear liqueur made from the marasca cherry. It belongs to Zadar, where the recipe was written down in a Dominican monastery at the start of the 16th century, and souvenir shops sell it in the tall straw-wrapped bottle

   Grammar Note

   Both spellings, "Maraschino" and "Maraskino", are current, from Italian "maraschino". Neuter

9. Pelinkovac

   Bitter wormwood liqueur

   Usage

   A markedly bitter liqueur made from wormwood ("pelin") with 26 further medicinal herbs, up to 35% alcohol. It is served chilled but without ice, as an aperitif or a digestif; squeeze a slice of lemon into it and it becomes "štrukani pelinkovac"

   Grammar Note

   Masculine, from "pelin" (wormwood) plus -kovac

10. Prošek

    Dalmatian sweet dessert wine

    Usage

    A sweet dessert wine of Dalmatia: over-ripe grapes are dried on straw for about a week to concentrate the sugar, then fermented to 13–15% with around 120 g of residual sugar per litre. The varieties include bogdanuša, maraština, vugava, plavac mali, crljenak and babić. It is not Italian Prosecco — this is a still, sweet wine — and it also goes into the braise for pašticada

    Grammar Note

    Masculine. Do not drop the "š" and write "prosek"

11. Gemišt

    White wine with sparkling mineral water

    Usage

    Dry white wine cut with sparkling mineral water; the name used in continental Croatia. There is no fixed ratio — it varies by bar and by drinker. It corresponds to the German-speaking Schorle, the Hungarian fröccs and the spritz of the Venetian hinterland

    Grammar Note

    Masculine, borrowed from German "gemischt" (mixed)

12. Bevanda

    Wine cut with water

    Usage

    Bevanda is, in the Adriatic region, a drink got by fermenting a sugar solution on freshly pressed grape pomace — and also wine mixed with water. In a konoba it is the second sense you order with a meal: "bijela bevanda" for white, "crna bevanda" for red. Note that gemišt uses sparkling water, while this one is plain water

    Grammar Note

    Feminine, borrowed from Venetian and Italian "bevanda" (drink), ultimately Latin "bibenda"

13. Cigarete

    Cigarettes

    Usage

    Smoking indoors in hospitality venues is prohibited under the tobacco law (Zakon o ograničavanju uporabe duhanskih i srodnih proizvoda). In a cafe it is the open terrace where people smoke, and a restaurant must set aside a separate smoking room where no food or drink is served. Check whether a table is on the terasa before you sit — and if smoke bothers you, that is the reason to sit inside

    Grammar Note

    Plural; the singular is "cigareta", feminine. A packet is "kutija cigareta", with the genitive plural

Browse all TravelPhrases languages