Spirits from Vinex Levački Grozd

During past two days, 21st and 22nd of August, the main square in my hometown (Niš, Serbia) was an interesting place to be; a wine exhibition was held here and some wineries from Serbia showcased their wines. But because of the heat, I wasn’t that interested in wine. On the other hand, a few of the wineries have also presented spirits they produce and I just couldn’t resist to taste some of them. Highlight of this showcasing were definitely products of Vinex Levački Grozd, of which I’ve had a chance to taste a quince brandy and “Pelin” bitter liqueur.

From left to right: Quince brandy, "Pelin" bitter liqueur, Poire William's pear brandy

Rare are distilleries in Serbia that don’t produce their own variety of pelinkovac – a popular bitter liqueur based on wormwood. Therefore it’s not strange that Vinex also markets their brand of this bitter liqueur, simply named “Pelin” (ie. “wormwood” in Serbian). As one would expect from bitter liqueurs, bitterness coming from wormwood and other herbs dominates in taste of Pelin. But sweetness is very well balanced with bitter flavors, making this pelinkovac variety more bitter-sweet than the others. On the other hand, sweetness doesn’t clutter the palate like in some of the sweeter varieties produced by other distilleries. Thanks to this, Vinex’s “Pelin” might be more suitable to people that are not used to bitterness of pelinkovac. And after just a few sips of Pelin you’ll feel quite long and pronounced bitter herbal aftertaste on your palate.

Vinex also took a chance to present their soon-to-be-launched line of fruit brandies named “Voda života” (“Water of life”), whichconsists of pear brandy (Piore William’s variety, to be precise ; viljamovka in Serbian) and quince brandy (dunjevača). Quince brandy is becoming quite popular lately here in Serbia, but not many quality brands can be found on the market – not even home-distilled. Many distilleries simply produce neutral distillate with added quince extract and market it as the quince brandy, thus fooling consumers into buying it. That’s why I was excited to taste new quince brandy on the market, hoping that it will be one of those rare jewels that are truly quality quince distillates – as I was assured by people on Vinex winery stand. It turned out that quince brandy from Voda života line by Vinex truly is quite good brandy. It has pleasant sweet fruity aroma, with full quince taste with a slight dose of bitterness, probably coming from the core of quince fruit. This brandy has a long aftertaste of slightly sweet fresh quinces, which will stay on your palate and please your senses many more minutes after you finish your drink.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get to taste their other brandy from Voda života line – Poire William’s pear brandy, but if they follow the same quality standards through this whole line of fruit spirits, I believe this will also be a fruit brandy worth having in your home bar. More info on it when I get a chance to taste it.