Törkölypálinka

Palinka (Hungarian, Pálinka; Romanian, Pălincă) is a traditional Hungarian,[1] double-distilled fruit brandy that is produced in Hungary and in Transylvania. It is most often made from various kinds of fruit; the most common varieties are made from plums, pears, or apricots. It may also be made from apples, cherries, mulberries, or quince.

Other varieties of the beverage are made from honey or from pomace.
The production of palinka in the European Union is regulated by order 1-3-1576/89, which took effect on 1 July 2002. According to the regulation, an alcoholic beverage may be called palinka in the EU only if:

it is made 100-percent from fruits or herbs indigenous to the Carpathian Basin and grown in Hungary, or from pomace grown in Hungary, and does not contain any additives,
it is produced and bottled in Hungary,
its alcohol content is between 37,5%% and 86%% ABV.
As a consequence of this regulation, a whole family of popular products was rebranded as párlat (generic distillate). Traditional pálinkas mixed with honey were rebranded as párlat as well, even if there was no unorthodox step in the process of distillation. A cheap mixture of fruit juice and ethanol, "szeszesital" ("alcoholic beverage"), is available in Hungary, but now Hungarian law requires that "szeszesital" be labeled as such, and not referred to as pálinka.

In 2004 the European Union accepted pálinka as a Hungarian speciality, and hence its production is limited to Hungary (and four provinces of Austria for pálinka made from apricot). This caused some confusion in neighbouring countries, as some claimed that producers of fruit brandies would have to pay a royalty to Hungary [2]. This is however not the case. It is the brand "pálinka" that is protected by Hungarian and EU law, hence producers outside of Hungary are not allowed to use the brand "pálinka" for their products, but they are free to produce fruit brandies and sell them under different names. This is in spite the drink being historically distilled in most of historical Hungary, many regions of which fall outside the present-day borders
Types of Pálinka
Kisüsti (literally "Small pot, cauldron") is a double-distilled pálinka made in a copper pot not exceeding a volume of 1000 litres.

- Érlelt (Aged) is a pálinka aged for at least 6 months in a wooden cask smaller than 1000 litres, or for at least 12 months in a wooden cask of 1000 litres or above.

- Ó (Old) is a pálinka aged for at least 12 months in a wooden cask smaller than 1000 litres, or for at least 24 months in a wooden cask of 1000 litres or above.

- Ágyas ("bedside") is a pálinka aged for at least 3 months together with fruits. The fruits can be of the same sort used to obtain the distillate or of another sort. To 100 liters of pálinka at least 10 kgs of ripe fruits have to be added
Varieties
A popular saying in Hungary says: what can be used to prepare jam can also be used to produce pálinka. (Clearly, for a fruit to be suitable for jam production it has to contain some sugar.) This saying suggests that pálinka can be made from a large variety of fruits, and indeed it is made from most of the fruits available in Hungary.

The most common pálinkas are made from apricots, pears, and plums. Other fruits that are often used are sour cherries, apples, mulberries and quince. Nevertheless, pálinka made from chestnuts is also available.

Pálinka made from pomace (törkölypálinka) is very popular as well, and is a typical drink in the wine producing regions of the country.

An unusual way of presenting pear palinka is when the bottle contains a whole fruit inside[3]. The tiny immature fruit and its branch are threaded into the bottle, and the pear matures there to a point where it is much larger than the bottle opening.