The Drink That Defined the Balkans

[@LivingIronicallyinEurope]

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[@bangy4269]

Was that the hungarian children's tales theme song. You gave me flashbacks

[@Roslavix]

@@bangy4269 It was from Minimax from the cartoon named "Stories from the Hungarian folklore"

[@raduvalentinrosca3996]

Ca fapt divers , cu ceva ani în urmă , UE a adoptat o directivă ca „Bicarbonatu” să fie interzis în industria alimentară . Politicieni din România speriați de această decizie , au fugit rapid la Bruxelles să le spună „ Voi sunteți Nebuni , vreți să porniți o răscoală în România ? Cum să facă Români „Mici” fără bicarbonat ?”...😉 Rezultatul a fost că politicieni de la Bruxelles au făcut o excepție pentru acest produs numit „Mici”....🤣🤣🤣

[@not_pyxlwhip]

Smash your avatar.

[@wtuwotl]

Is it female or male, ​@@not_pyxlwhip? (I mean it does not matter)

[@ionescuandrei1245]

>buy 95% rubbing alcohol >filter the rubbing out >keep alcohol

[@iulius56]

the filters in question being some slices of bread with some sugar sprinkeled on top

[@not_smart_and_not_a_toy]

​@@iulius56 Then we eat that too

[@metalassassin8841]

@@iulius56 Ahaha, exactly what I was thinking about 🤣

[@DawidEstishort]

@@not_smart_and_not_a_toy That's just some home-made careal for the children

[@4nc13nt]

...idk man, if I buy alcohol, I want all 100% of it, not just 95% 😅

[@o1812-o2k]

Fun syllogism in Romania: 1. Every person deserves a beer 2. After a beer, you are a changed person ... ... who in turn deserves a beer.

[@PyromaN93]

I will steal this

[@ChangeNameEdits]

@@PyromaN93Damn, free Romanian citizenship

[@PyromaN93]

@@ChangeNameEdits nah, too warm

[@Loanshark753]

*Different person

[@OEpistimon]

An old greek movie had a very similar quote in it loosely translated, it's "When I drink, I become a different person. Then the different person drinks too and I get shitfaced."

[@xeliotrop]

As my colleague once said: "There are 3 reasons a man is getting drunk: 1. Because he's sad 2. Because he's happy 3. Just because"

[@furrycircuitry2378]

Just because I drank a quart of beer, and just because I became a quart of beer -Pickle for a knowing one

[@dusanradin5868]

4.Because he's married.

[@KaraokeNig]

@@dusanradin5868 That is included in the first two reasons.

[@nicechock]

what is this channel even. some mu slim phrpopaganda channel

[@AkaomeNanashi]

Some drink from happiness , some from sorrow and us balcans we drink from the morning...

[@Assen87]

If Ottomans didnt touch our wine, they still might have ruled the balkans. Stupid mistake.

[@PAINNN666]

Mongols was more tolerable. Where are they now? So nope.

[@verbalDK1]

Ottomans couldn't care less about dumb Christian serfs and their wine... and FYIO, and they themselves drank the wine

[@noobguy9973]

Nah French revolution still happened and Nationalism and ethnic identity started becoming more important than religious identity. It still would've ended that way for an empire with so many different cultures under it kinda like the romans. Makes one think multi-culturalism doesn't work as we see todays immigrant crises in EU today.

[@muhammedsaltukalacan435]

But you guys wouldn't have Rakija

[@dominic3855]

​@@PAINNN666the really big issue with the Mongol empires was that thy just got too damn big

[@chrismill85]

in the West after 5 beers you're a drunk, in the Balkans you're the driver

[@furrycircuitry2378]

I really love this phrase

[@Dovecar388]

Sadly the average balkans person's tolerance to alcohol is so high beer won't make them drunk

[@PaCo-PPSH]

👍👍👍

[@StudiomcmasterTV]

after 5 beers you are the most sober person in the entire group 💀

[@АлександърДойчев-е5б]

It's true here in Bulgaria 🇧🇬 😂

[@Alanahmed742]

Fun Fact: Vladimir Sviatoslavich chose Christianity over Islam because drinking was prohibited in islam

[@The_Robbing_Narrator]

Based

[@georgeloukas6018]

😂Yeeeeeaaaaahhhh not really (it was a small factor, but not the most important one) God bless you. 🙏🏻

[@kaiinuakuma]

Alegedly

[@iskanderrg]

Hey, we actually learnt this in school

[@iskanderrg]

​​@@georgeloukas6018Honestly, he just needed any religion that would get him some allies by faith. Thank God he did, though

[@alakntvr7179]

Average Balkaner: I`m an alcoholic, i smoke, curse all day long, i like casinos and yell at girls on the street Westerners: Thanks for sharing your problems with us Balkaner: What problems!?!?

[@Archemideez]

sound like a native american 🦬🍻

[@MikaZayor]

@@Archemideez Not true stop talking abt american this is the balkans

[@MikaZayor]

@@Archemideez yall get drunk when drinking half of a root beer💀💀

[@azadhaberlandt8719]

Wait till bro finds out germany drinks more than than the Balkans

[@fthagnryleh4951]

Well that's why your average life expectancy is so low. xD

[@-WMD-Edutainment]

My dad gave me Pálinka when my throat hurt real bad because of an infection. My throat hasn't been in pain since.

[@koriolakorni5041]

Actually, now it doesn't feel anything.

[@ramoncf7]

If that's the treatment I would have throat pain for the rest of my life.

[@herrkulor3771]

Not Unicum? 😂 or brandy on sugar

[@doctorcubism1069]

alcohol; the best disinfectant

[@Zyfil]

a pálinkánál nincs jobb gyógyszer

[@anonymousanon5390]

In Bulgaria, we have a saying: beer is for drinking, water is for washing.

[@Mr-__-Sy]

That's the same in Moldova only it's with wine

[@RomaniaOverpowered]

You wouldn't want to rust your insides now, wouldn't you?

[@anonymousanon5390]

@@RomaniaOverpowered That's why you have to drink rakija before bed.

[@Krumanionec]

@@Mr-__-Sy Once I met a Moldavian uncle like guy, when he heard I was Bulgarian he immediately got me to his cellar and purred me 3 glasses of his best wine and forced me to drink it bottoms up with him. Great people Moldavians, I say

[@SS369]

lmao I haven't heard this one

[@randommook101]

In my country there's a saying -- if there's a Sprite cap on the Coke bottle; it's rakija. Truer words have never been spoken.

[@GeorgeBuzi]

that's why they connected the cap to the bottle lately >D

[@dinok7630]

If the coke isnt black, its rakija.

[@kutyaszar]

the best thing is when u want to drink some water and turns out the water bottle contained rakija xd

[@PaulXPZ]

@@kutyaszar I've had that happen to me several times. Also happened to my nephew a few years ago

[@savvaspapadopoulos7214]

A foreign ambassador to Greece was in for a surpise when he drank a clear liquid from a 1.5 liter Coke bottle, thinking it was water. It was tsipouro, a greek drink similar to rakija. Generally, it is unwise to drink from an unmarked bottle in the Balkans wihout smelling it first.

[@lephten]

us turks hate alcohol so much that we drink it everyday

[@pablodelsegundo9502]

Much like many Persians I know.

[@Warcriminal-19983]

Aint that the truth

[@kawaiilotus]

That's one way to get rid of it!

[@cattysplat]

Hate drinking responsibly.

[@krisstopher8259]

you drink it to get rid of it, i get it lol

[@macedoniagaming2697]

we dont have alcohol in our blood, we have blood in our alcohol!!!!

[@freakysquirrel7218]

Least Romanian Wine Tester lol

[@mihaelaparvu7585]

@@freakysquirrel7218the Moldavians beat us to it 😅

[@_Lumiere_]

Clearly you have both 😂

Fun fact, if you have 15 promiles of alcohol in blood, it makes your blood legally alcohol.

[@PyromaN93]

No no. As a Russian, I must correct you - you forget about nicotine.

[@adelinaiftime3152]

Very bold of you to post this mid rakija season, my parents are distilling some in the backyard as im watching this

[@Pakiu1306]

Based

[@gergelyritter4412]

Yeah, my father is making some as well.

[@keysersauce6471]

Do they have a permit to distil alcohol? 😜

[@krisstopher8259]

lmao. sounds like a fun family

[@darko_lengkeek-jakupovic]

​​​@@keysersauce6471 N- yes officer!

[@hrznn]

As a hungarian, it is of utmost importance to improve our rank on the alcoholism chart, so I shall go and distill more pálinka. We have 9 plum trees at our house, yet have no jam at all.

[@rdrrr]

You cannot permit the Rom*nians to outdrink you

[@spoopytime9928]

Motivator: According to WHO, #1 on pure alcohol consumption per capita in 2023 was Romania. You're losing to Romania.

[@Apatetika]

A Turk, a Bulgar, a Serb and a Romanian walks into a bar ..he orders a Rakija

[@Dean123123100]

They finish the first glass and start discussing local news. They order a seconds, finish that and start talking sports. Order a third and start comparing the things they own "i have 3 cows and 4 horses. 5 fields of grain, a beautiful wife and 6 children" ect ect. Finish it and order a 4th. They finish that and start to argue which of their counties is the best. Order a 5th, finish it and get into a fight. Get kicked out, sober up and repeat the next night.

[@robrob9050]

Stayed in hostel and got Covid there which was proved with PCR test at local hospital and it was not dangerous to me (2 Pfeizer shots) . Went back to room there was one Turkish guy there and while myself fully masked warned him that he have to leave immediately since I was Covid positive, but guess what the guy did not get that really..what Covid?! And started offering me Rakija as cure..OMG, Balkan people.

[@ilijaknezevic6073]

@@Dean123123100 not true, rakija connecting people ! Exception is the one type of rakija by the brand name of "svadjalica" which also can be made from any fruit that is capable to fermentize :D

[@fighterskull]

Rakija , raki or what ever else they call it is the universal drink of balkans

[@lomenvolkenopleg2945]

We balkanians complain about Money and Economic problems but never forget to spend half of our Money to Alcohols too

[@krisstopher8259]

sounds like my life and i'm swedish lol

[@sziklamester1244]

@@krisstopher8259 possible you have at least an excuse for that. The climate in Scandinavia and the less sunlight makes you guys weirdos. Understandable you need some booze to keep going. A non drinker Hungarian.

[@zivkovicable]

Most people have at least one family member who has a distillery in their yard and a few plum trees. Then its cheap.

[@lomenvolkenopleg2945]

@@zivkovicable Im one of the unlucky few...

[@Gotten1888]

how do you think we keep the economy going?

[@BalkanMike]

Alcohol 🤝 Balkan people

[@Skelator_Sikelator]

Traditional cigarette & caffee breakfast couldn't catch up with the rapidly worsening situation of this hellpit, so many do not have any alternative but also having funny water & dreams as dinner.

[@kam833]

no. Alcohol = Balkan people

[@Mescherudavid]

alchahol and balkan people 🤜🤜🤜🤜muslim people

[@DJMiko21]

Greek here confirming everything! We call it "Tsipouro", and, while it is consumed in all of Greece, it is especially honored in Crete, where they drink "Raki" or "Tsikoudia", which is made from grapes only.

[@baguettedestroyer4145]

​@@Skelator_Sikelatorwhat, rakija and cigarette

[@leonmlinaric4608]

"This place may suck but as long as we're enjoying rakija together it's the best place in the world" this is by far the most beautiful sentence ever uttered in the history of the entire Balkans

[@livedandletdie]

Balkan life, Sponzor: Rakija

[@FactsYouNeeddd]

2 hours later everyone will start fighting)))

[@Dean123123100]

​@@FactsYouNeedddi mean, why wouldn't we fight ? We're all good friends here. As long as no one dies we'll fight

[@2-AZ1-BE]

Rakija before, during and after pig slaughtering while outside is -40° winter. True balkan spirit.

[@Valkbg]

As a child I loved it as I could drink rakia with honey. This was even before turning 10

[@simapark]

A Serb and a Frenchman are the only people sat next to each other in a Bar in Greece . Everything is silent apart from the sound of the Bar owner filling their glasses . After 2 hours of total silence the Frenchie lifts his glass and says to the Serb, 'Cheers' . The Serb doesn't even look up but replies,'Are we here to talk, or are we here to drink' .

[@thefunydaino3991]

Here in Bulgaria I am considered a person who does not drink, when I'm online with my foreign friends, am am aparently an alcoholic!

[@FakenameStevens]

How?

[@alastairthegreat2887]

​@@FakenameStevens I would guess he drinks less than other people in Bulgaria but more than his foreign friends.

[@Posiman]

​@@FakenameStevensIf you only have one beer or wine on every social occasion (which might be every other day) you are still seen as basically an abstinent. I'm from Czechia and we are milder than Bulgarians, but you can say "an alcoholic" is not a category of quantity but of behavior. You can drink three shots a day and still not be seen as an alcoholic, if you handle the alcohol well. You are only called an alcoholic, if you are never seen sober. If having a shot is the first you do after waking up. If you regularly drink yourself into fainting and pissing your pants.

[@TheOzumat]

@@Posiman This is mostly how it's seen here too. But my Norwegian friend is very concerned for me, because I drink beer every day.

[@PyromaN93]

​@@TheOzumatday without beer is a shit

[@lecso0519]

turks couldn't tax the coca cola bottle with "water" inside it, even tho it had "szilva 1542" written on it with a sharpie

[@biitimate3697]

My father storing pálinka in mineral water bottles resulted in many surprises of my childhood.

[@lecso0519]

@@biitimate3697 ikr

[@sued_]

@@biitimate3697 We pranked our friend by leaving a nice chilled bottle of non-disclosed clear liquid on the kitchen table when he went running. Needless to say when he came back he was in for a surprize

[@catherine_404]

Somehow, that "szliva 1542" (which is obviously all about well-refined plum) warms my Slavic heart. When I was a kid, all other Slavic languages were funny to me, now I find them all lovely and homely, like my brother languages they are.

[@WretchedRedoran]

​@@sued_ That happened to my dad a long time ago but it was a mason jar full of bleach

[@catalinmarius3985]

Fun story: A story told by antique geographer Strabo in "the geography", referring to the creator of the first Dacian state, Burebista (1st century BC), shows that he ordered for all vineyard to be torn down, in order to keep his army disciplined, implying there were serious issues with the Dacians not being able to go to war because they would be drunk. It seems that the measure was only partly applied, because when they came to Dacia, the Romans issued a coin, in 106 AD, which showed two children offering grapes to a woman. An obviously defining symbol of the Dacians was being thus highlighted. The Romans also brought in new types of grapes, but also their own wine-growing techniques, which contributed to improving the production. Romanians were alcoholics since before they were Romanians 🦾

[@mimisor66]

I would not use the word alcoholics, but wine connoisseurs!

[@Afrologist]

Often times, especially when looking at genetics, it's really the language & culture that changes, not the people themselves.

[@thorthewolf8801]

The daco romanian continuity is a myth.

[@catalinmarius3985]

@@thorthewolf8801 The hungarian european origins is a myth.

[@bivanbivanus6448]

@@thorthewolf8801 we were all drunk mate , so nobody'ss sure about who's mother did what aniway 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@isellcrack3537]

True Story: A neighbor of mine works as a cameraman in the national Channel 1 TV station. They were in Ireland filming a documentary by invitation of their colleagues over there. Apparently their hosts hadn`t watched this video (main reason is probably that they weren`t time travelers) cz they invited the Bulgarian film crew to drink as much Irish whisky as they want and that their tab will be covered for... This was the last time Irish TV ever invited our guys over there.

[@bruhistantv9806]

People here think we drink a lot, but meet Russians, or Scandinavians, or the English, or the Czechs and see that "cirrhosis of the liver speedrunning" is a genuine activity

[@JustSpectre]

I was very surprised how could have some random Balkan country outdrink the Czechs. Although it's nothing to be proud of

[@pleaserespond3984]

A friend once pointed out Russians drink to get drunk (and they get drunk faster than us); whereas we drink to enjoy the drink. Good vodka has no flavour. Good rakija has the flavour of home.

[@radiathor]

@@JustSpectre mention the Czech Republic and leave out Slovakia? a country where everything that has sugar is distilled, and what is not, we add sugar

[@The_Crimson_Fucker]

Yes but, in their defense, the Russians get a head start on us - they've had their first drink by the first trimester.

[@it_is_what_it_is269]

or Slovaks ,its common that during short visit 3 men down 5 bottles of slivovica with alcohol content over 52% ofc followed up with case of beer to chase the demon down.(please for the sake of your own liver dont try to drink with eastern slovaks and rusyns)

[@JustGrowingUp84]

Here in Romania, apparently we were alcoholics well before Christianity, as the Greek philosopher, historian and geographer Strabon mentions how king Burebista instituted a prohibition on wine, on the advice of his high-priest Deceneu, in order to curb drunkenness. I don't know how true it is, but it's a funny/sad anecdote nonetheless. Edit: and of course someone else already mentioned it. Twice! Eh, I'll keep the comment on, for the algorithm.

[@ivanpetrov5007]

Not surprised, the Thracians and Dacians had a cult for Dionysus / Zagreus / Silenus after all. People have been getting smashed for centuries in these lands way before Christianity.

[@benzene_sandwich]

living in romania, i drink yeagermiester at least once every two days, all my friends do too, for new years, we buy 5 bottles of vodka from kaufland

[@georgeoldsterd8994]

As the old Russian joke went "How can you be Straight Edge in a country where they make you drink even after you're dead?" It pretty much applies to everyone in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

[@it_is_what_it_is269]

we got old saying in slovakia that someone drinks to celebrate ,other drink to ease their sorrows Slovak drinks from the morning

[@Jamhael1]

​@@it_is_what_it_is269 in Brazil we have a saying: "If I drink, I'm alive. Only the dead don't drink!"

[@spoopytime9928]

Health problems caused by heavy drinking is so commonplace in Russia that a city in South Korea figured out a money making cycle exploiting this until shit hit the fan. Russian man gets cancer from too much vodka > gets failed by Russian medical system > comes to Korea > gets cured > words spread > Russian man gets cancer...

[@emiloprita9771]

This huge variety of alcoholic beverages make life so beautiful in the Balkans! Jiveli brate from Romania!!!

[@ROU_lex]

Romanian here, i drink 6/7 days a week, sometimes more, today and yesterday i haven't drank anything, first time being sober for 2 days in a row in months. I turn 19 in october

[@StomperFF]

I feel your comment I was golden child until I started drinking at age of 16 for 0 reason hahahah i was drinking almost every day even on jobs i worked at till age of 22 and i had friend that was even more crazy about drinking and he is still drinking beer every day to this day he went from being a stick man to 130 kg man xD in 2 days we managed to drink 130 beers and 2 bottles of rakija we were pissing like crazy but yeah im 25 now and drink like 1 beer a month at most if i go out never got addicted and now i get drunk from 2 beers people look at me like im joking but i really dont care about drinking anymore doesnt taste good when you stop

[@Hydrolaevea]

Sincer atata timp cat iei pauze intre bauturi, nu o sa devii betiv. Incearca sa bei o data la 2 zile. Si nu bea porcarii ieftine.

[@ROU_lex]

@@Hydrolaevea Gordons gin cu vin merge frate

[@eliteiel9747]

How tf do you drink more than 7 days a week. A week only has 7 days

[@ROU_lex]

@@eliteiel9747* i used to drink 6 out of 7 days a week, sometimes 7 days a week. Didn't phrase it very well, glad i cut down on alcohol tho

[@aiardelean]

I like that the harmful effects of alcohol are mentioned. My father ruined his life when he decided he would become an alcoholic. He had his 40-year-old mid-life crisis, and he thought he was so cool and the life of the party, and everybody loved him if he drank a lot. The truth is that the ones who cheered him were other alcoholics for whom he would buy drinks, and unfortunately, there were too many of them; even though we didn't live in a poor area, it was a boring middle-class town where people had nothing to do, so they drank. He died 15 years after he made a mess out of his life.

[@rp27654]

Womp womp womppp

[@solaireastora5394]

@@rp27654 I hope you make bad business investments that cause long term problems throughout your life

[@petrevarvara7444]

Sorry for your loss, my Romanian brother . I don't like bețivii. I too had some alcoholic in the family that needed a surgery , while in the hospital he could not get any alcohol and all do the surgery was successfully he died anyway becouse of alcohol withdrawaul .

[@uydagcusdgfughfgsfggsifg753]

I once got drunk with a bunch of Georgians & Serbs in a mansion in the new world, only for the owner (one of their fathers) to roll in at 5am from his night out. He was the archdiocese for a huge swath of the country, and immediately started pulling out cigars & mystery Rakija. I was the only one to go shot for shot with him, I had 5 and was praying to the porcelain gods by noon I love Rakija

[@sanderlahuis5698]

“Praying for the porcelain gods” I love this metaphor lmao

[@Jamhael1]

Ah, yes, the great god "HUUUUUUGHHH!"

[@matatjuh]

Forced to love Alcohol Born to love Alcohol 💪💪

[@dominiklovric4026]

Man I had a bottle of rakija in Slavonija couple weeks back. It was just a clear reused bottle with a fully grown plum inside. It was literally just 80% ethanol with a side of plum skin 😭, would drink again 👍

[@aussenseiter97]

As a bosnian "muslim" I will never give up alcohol! Živjeli!

[@jirizajic2479]

Živi i zdravi, Bratko!

[@disekjoumoer]

I knew a bloke in Slovenia who knew a farmer who made really good Zganje. He sent me two bottles of the stuff in the post. It arrived smelling like Mirko's grandmother's funeral. But fuck me silly was it absolutely fucking sublime. Best booze I've ever had. Made me want to learn Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian and maybe even Bulgarian.

[@doomdrake123]

Get black-out drunk and all south-slavic languages are the same. You can speak a lil bit of greek and romanian as well.

[@McWirst]

The "kid has a splinter? rakia" joke is the realest shit ever

[@Michalis_Moustakis]

My grandfather was buried with a bottle of raki😂😂

[@spirofarmaku6772]

Mine too😂😂😂😂

[@Mkbshg8]

Unless you saw the soil hitting the bottle the priest probably took it.

[@Michalis_Moustakis]

@@spirofarmaku6772 we got to keep the family tradition going

[@xiaopingzdrang834]

Mine grandfather too whit "țuică"

[@adama.kamara]

😮😂

[@Elatenl]

Bro why does the Serbian president look like a fish

[@MatumboMatumbo]

Vucic literally looks like a real life chudjak

[@616nikola]

because he is fishy guy

[@oskarmaxx]

I think he looks more like a godforsaken corrupt bastard but to each their own

[@AcikaB]

He also smells like one and so do all his associates

[@jayvhoncalma3458]

​@@616nikola Ba dam dush

[@aaronhorton322]

I've made this, this year, and I went with the harvest, of each fruit I used. Were I'm from, " which is the South Eastern US" Brandy moonshine. Or as my grandaddy called it " white Lightning" ⚡. Love this video, and love the history lesson. I am always interested in the way other people make their alcohol or how they live and the world beautiful

[@Luca-ow7ni]

When i was living with my parents and had period cramps my mom instead of giving me pain killers used to give me shots of pálinka. We also have a really popular Hungarian song called pálinka dal

[@patrikniklasson4059]

Mi a fa...

[@Nick-bh5uk]

Funnily enough, in Greece we make Raki out of grapes. We've gone full circle!

[@Centurion101B3C]

Yeah, but you are Greeks so it doesn't count. (You are above that if you so choose to see it.) and besides that there are several historical practices in Greece that other (less cultivated peoples, again if you choose to see it) would not emulate. The French created Cognac and Armagnac from grapes, granted they did not live in the Sacred Balkans and only occasionally fought against the Turks, or the Muselman in a more broader sense, now didn't they? In any way, their Legion Etrangere (foreign Legion) has no prohibition on drinking. There are severe sanctions on being unfit for duty though.

[@eikonise]

So.... Grappa?

[@Dac_DT_MKD]

Ah yes, Ritsina.

[@outrage_swampert979]

Rakia is something to be respected, not abused

[@kfcman9229]

It is an honor for you to show a clip of one of my relatives making this iconic drink, thank you!

[@KartingRules]

Where?

[@taras3988]

9:45 the band behind the is Dubioza Kolektiv! I have their hoodie rn on me Video name: No escape (from balkan)

[@Razor_EDG]

by the way many of the high ranking officials and scholers in the ottoman empire was also devshirmes because when they were looking for boys for devshirme they would take the smart one and send them to enderun where they would get the best education in the empire after getting converted and they would be the highest ones at that ,even most sadrazams who were the second most powerful person in the empire were mostly devshirmes; and it is important to note that yeniçeris(janissaries) are devshirmes and whole concubine thing just wasnt a thing because it is haram to castrate someone in islam so ottomans would get their concubine guard pre-castrated from african slave traders

[@blackblaud]

Rakija is so embedded in our culture, that in a family gathering a toast is not considered a toast with any drink other than rakija.

[@TheCubicplanet]

Living in Romania, I've bought my first beer when I was 13 or 14 in the early 90's. That's also when I started smoking. I've had my worst drunk episode at 16. Even though drinking beer or strong alcohol was a daily thing in highschool, I stayed away from going too far. I remember puking and feeling absolutely horrible one time and asking to myself how on earth does anyone enjoy this. Fortunately, I didn't become an alcoholic. I rarely drink and only small quantities and good quality alcohol, but the 90's were wild for today's standards.

[@rusudenes8549]

im the same, never touched alohol for more than 15 years. i think we are lucky we just don't like the taste

[@raics101]

That's the best thing about it, the worse you feel at the moment, the better you'll feel afterwards. I think I've had a pretty healthy relationship with alcohol for the past 25 years, with a few simple rules. The most important ones are "Never drink to feel better if you're sad, and never drink alone".

[@akagi007]

Hey, that´s my story too. From word to word.

[@rdrrr]

@@raics101 I heard the Russian way of doing things is you have to have at least 2 friends with you. That makes it a party and it's good to drink at a party. I guess this is why Russian guys hang out in groups of 3...

[@rauhau_]

in balkans drinking alcohol is safer than drinking water

[@aleisterlavey9716]

How about tea? Tea made from malt and hops, forgotten for a little time in the cellar 😂🍻😂

[@PraviLukijanJC]

no. I drink water from mountains it is natural.

[@Centurion101B3C]

@@PraviLukijanJC Poor sod!

[@PraviLukijanJC]

@@Centurion101B3C ? I dont understand i am Serbian sorry for my bad english.

[@Centurion101B3C]

@@PraviLukijanJC Sorry, I confused water and alcohol. My bad.

[@chronowolf4734]

14:40 A thing I always found amusing about my father is that he proclaims himself as agnostic, but he came from a Muslim family and to this day he refuses to even try pork. But that doesn't stop him from a nightly shot of rakija. Or a different drink, depending on the ocassion.

[@lucyalicenox5871]

Once when I went to stay on the small farm my grandma grew up at in Croatia as a kid, my mom sprained her ankle. First thing they did to help was wrap it in a rag soaked in rajkia lol. Idk how well that worked, but it sure helps to put some in your tea when you have a cold

[@Roslavix]

I didn't even watch the video, but I will assume he's talking about Pálinka

[@Roslavix]

I was right

[@TyrantSolo]

We all know that alcohol truly originates in Hungary any idea otherwise is propaganda

[@francescocabras1190]

Alcohol Is originates in Serbia don't listen to this Bulgarian propaganda 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸

[@fritz_hun8137]

Így igaz ez tezsvirjem

[@noobzie8963]

Pontosan wérem

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

Egészségedre! Komiszul ittuk a kumiszt....

[@Dramuch]

Revoke Trianon!

[@catalinmarius3985]

There is a fun fact in Romania: ancient Strabo geographer wrote in "the geography" that Burebista, a great Dacian king, was tired that his peoples were being drunk on wine all the time and he burned all the vineyards in his kingdom so that no more wine could be produced. After the Romans conquered Dacia, they issued a coin in 106 AD, which showed two children offering grapes to a woman. An obviously defining symbol of the Dacians was being thus highlighted. Meaning Burebista's reforms didn't last. The Romanians were the first alcoholics in the Balkans! They were alcoholics before they were Romanians. 💪💪💪💪💪

[@mihaelaparvu7585]

And yet our younger siblings, the Moldavians drink way more than us 😅

[@Woah9394]

​@@mihaelaparvu7585bc they have super fertile land în which they use for wine

[@krisstopher8259]

@@mihaelaparvu7585 the whole europe is drunk. russia: "hold my vodka"

[@BarsusDraco]

As a romanian, it doesent matter if we get invaded by romans, ottomans or the USSR- if you keep us from drinking, there will be no more mister nice, and we'll send you back where you came from. You can take a man's life and land, but not his thirst for strong and sweet-bitter alcohol

[@veneps]

@@Woah9394 like most of romania?

[@tominhaledhisfingers2468]

Sljivovica & and Albanian 'spring water' rakia are the best I've had. A great drink! Balkans made me enjoy hard liquor. Lived in the region for a year

[@eldraque4556]

great insight, thank you

[@visko6203]

I know how to make rakija because I had to help my father make it every year and learned how to make it along the way. That's my cultural inheritance. That, and how to butcher a pig to have meat over the winter. This includes all the boiling, drying, and sausage making there needs to be.

[@karlshorstzwei]

​@@Mkbshg8With the alcohol at least, they did the same as soon as the imam wasn't looking.

[@fratercontenduntocculta8161]

I love how this actually gave me a better understanding of the animosity between Christians and Muslims in the region.

[@Somi-dp7eg]

Average Balkaner : I started smoking when i was 12 , i started drinking when i was 7 started gambiling when i was 14 .

[@creature2479]

I dunno as a brit I'm not much of a gambler but have been smoking since 13 and drinking since 14 or 15. Maybe it's just a European thing lol.

[@rdrrr]

​@@creature2479 America has a federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. In the Balkans these are the three staple food groups

[@EzraTheEpic]

Rakija made its way to Eastern European Jews and by the 20th century Jews in Poland were making Rakija (which we called Slivovitz). Even today in America we will drink this during Passover feasts (where grain alcohols are not permitted). Cheers to my Balken friends for the many hangovers.

[@javorekbg6081]

A man could rarely come into such a good, informative, interesting and finely-creatively "served" content on YT. Thank You from Sofija i svaka vam cast, mladicu!

As they say in Serbia: I only drink for 2 occasions, when it is my birthday and when it is not!

[@alexanderbabjak6265]

we sure do love drinking in europe

[@BHuang92]

With all of the BS that happened in Europe, it's logical

[@Anonymous-zu7dh]

I mean like everywhere..... it depends. Sweden has much much less of a drinking culture than the Balkans. I keep hearing the national monopoly is expensive but I like cider and it's basically priced the same as soda.

[@alexanderbabjak6265]

@@Anonymous-zu7dh my granddad makes his own stuff so I think we still win

[@cattysplat]

Protestant countries drink beer. Christian countries drink wine. Both get drunk 🥴

[@attiladerhunne2998]

That's just the high prices in Sweden or all of Scandinavia. Once they leave, they're pretty much always drunk (but in a positive way, not the English way). They also stuff their car with as much alcohol they are allowed to bring when they go by car.

[@karacaddy]

Contrary to popular belief, the Turks were not hostile to alcohol products. Alcohol was frequently consumed in Bektashism, the sect common in the Balkans. Anatolia was especially a complete wine production center. It was Murat IV who banned alcohol, the reason why he banned alcohol, cigarettes and coffee was to keep people sober and to prevent them from sleeping in coffeehouses; But the funny thing is that Murat IV died of alcohol coma, like many sultans who died of alcohol!

[@FredericaConnor]

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.

[@contytub]

Lower alcohool percentage means drinking way more . That's why i personally like beer a lot

[@Xtra_21]

This is my first time seeing this channel, did i just stumble into a balkan rabbithole?

[@nikolasloungos7319]

Rule no1 in the balkans---> NEVER drink ''water'' from the clear Coca Cola bottle If you do, youcan expect a 10% debuff in critical thinking and a 20000% buff in strength

[@GTDpowah]

This channel has the best comment sections in the entire KZbin ❤

[@mezmerism107]

Wait what? Drinking Gunpowder? Fascinating. The American would love you guys.

[@agalie7139]

I was 7 years old when my grandfather ask me to test the quality of the new batch of tuica from the distiller because he was too wasted. I did good and sorted the premium, the normal and for the ladies. One year later I was beheading chickens (for kitchen needs) under influence and at 12 years a shot of same plum product give me the courage to be a man with an older girl.Drinking is bad evidently. The times have changed and my 12 year nonalcoholic son still have his Tedy bear to sleep with.

[@aliveandkicking1977]

I was 6 years old when I was brought home drunk for the first time. At 18, I could drink 2 liters of hard liquor and drive a car, bike or motorcycle normally. When I was 20, I realized that women prefer non-drinkers and by my 28th birthday I was mostly sober. I got married on my 28th birthday and the next day I started drinking again.😜 . I've been married for 20 years and I won't stop drinking until I get divorced.

[@kubakielbasa5987]

@@aliveandkicking1977 if you get divorced vodka is an option

[@georgegaming5094]

my grandparents were rather conservative, they did not allow me to drink, stay around the still, or sacrifice anything bigger than a duck until I was 14, but I had free access to wine. they were also frowning upon beer, calling it the fools drink.

[@sanuku535]

Palinka is something else, I may be Polish, but even I bow to the migthy Palinka. I don't care how strong it is, or how high quality it is, it will burn me from the inside. 13:04 lmfao, I am dyting in here

[@dimitrijenikolic9807]

as someone from Serbia who studied in Budapest, i agree, that stuff was insane.

[@norbertcsaszar4746]

I'm Hungarian,and if anyone wanna try real pálinka,skip the ones you can buy from stores. The best pálinka is homemade,with baseline 40% alcohol (its considered weak), in the store i think it's mostly 35% and doesnt taste that good. My grandfather made 70% pálinka, 2 shot of those in a summer heat and you sleep for half a day. My collague make a good 55% pálinka,those are more bearable and have a nice fruity flavor (still hits like a truck).

[@martinhalasz3009]

I haven't seen one under 50% which was homemade my grandfather made 65% ones

[@Stasio800]

Pamiętaj że nic nie przebija tradycyjnego napoju prawdziwego Polskiego menela, czyli Denaturatu przepuszczonego przez chleb.

[@aliveandkicking1977]

​@@norbertcsaszar4746i add carolina reaper in 3 times destiled rakija. Thats burns inside for real.

[@JustARandomGuy2354]

Turks:Alcohol and alcoholism is bad we should prohibit alcohol to protect and preserve society and islam. Also turks:hippity hoppity your rakija is now my property All jokes aside balkaners can argue for hours straight on who originally owns the rakija and its quite funny ngl also ive seen a lot of balkaners in online arguing about this topic.

[@fool1809]

as far as i know, turks in the middle asia were using it in their rituals(rakı saçısı) for umay ana ,a turkic goddes and more like the gaia in nordic mythology, and we left off the practice after converting to islam which is sad. its possible that gagvuz, bulgarians tatars or etc brought it to balkans in my opinion. and europeans dont know anything correct about ottomans and its really strange. i dont like ottomans much myself too but their reasonings are all wrong. i wonder where they learn their knowlege in history.

[@JustARandomGuy2354]

@@fool1809 this theory is pretty interesting ngl and also gaia is in greek mythology not in nordic Thanks for the info ig i will do some research about it

[@fool1809]

@@JustARandomGuy2354 sorry it's my mistake, thank you for correcting it.

[@fool1809]

btw i thought that you were turk.

[@mimisor66]

Was surprised to drink Turkish wine in Turkey! So they make not only beer, but also wine. Presumably they also drink it?😂

[@levtrot3041]

This is indeed very true, when I was a little kid and had the common cold, fever, literally anything, the cure would always involve rakija. If I had sore throat, I would receive warm rakija which I had to hold in my mouth and then spit out. If I had a fever, rags dipped in hot rakija would be placed on my feet before going to bed, and a headband soaked in rakija around my head. We had around 50 plum trees, some in the village a lot more.

[@sapereaudediogenes7282]

In Portugal we also Drink Rakia, we call it " Bagaço" or "Agua ardente" (Burning water)😅. We were also under Muslim control 😢.

[@skibidi.G]

Honorary Balkan

[@athelasstrategy]

Turks hate alcohol that much so they invented a very famous version of "Rakija" called "Rakı" flavored with anise seeds and made it the national drink of the country. Talking Balkan drinking habits without mentioning rakı is a little strange isn't it?

[@cezartoma5620]

Pretty interesting video, very informative, but another video ideea would be to talk about the balkans/eastern european folklore. I keep hearing that you put traditional music in the background and even in a q and a I have asked a question if u like romanian traditional music and you said yes. We (as romanians and not only) would be grateful for someone to promote our wonderful folklore to a much larger audience!

[@baginatora]

Western european: So, what do you guys do with the remaining rakia? Guy from Balkans: I don’t understand the question.

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

Well if some do remain...no one will spot it few minutes later, you gotta have a drink in the morning too after all.

[@rdrrr]

@@alexturnbackthearmy1907 Hungover? Well that's why you keep the bottle by your bed. Hangover is your punishment for allowing yourself to sober up.

[@kristidev]

Remaining??????

[@Qwersity]

9:44 bruh it backfired a lot of ppl in turkey drink raki now 😭😭💀💀

[@Gamesbozz]

Turks were also involved in its creation he forgot to mention it 😂

[@wastelanddv8062]

Hearing how early Christians loved wine so much is mind blowing. When I was growing up as a southern Baptist in Kentucky they said drinking alcohol was a sin.

[@VasileIuga]

In Maramureș is called horincă and is 54-64 strong, depending on the taste. The 30-40 is called tiuslă and was used for windows washing.

[@radokost]

Наздраве! На всички балкански братя и сестри!

[@Uraim]

my grandpa drank a bottle of palinka every day (1.5-2liter) and went to do the fields with his tractors, police officers knew it and didnt care. But he know how to drive so he never really got stopped, because he was known. At least that wasnt that strong, it was only 20-25%

[@creature2479]

That's 40 units (More than enough to kill a non seasoned alcoholic outright) jesus. 20 units will have the average person so drunk they can't walk and carries a risk of death. 40 units is 30 beers lol

[@Uraim]

@@creature2479 my grandpa was an alcoholic :P he drank for arround 50years. died at 79, he started heavy drinking at ~30.

[@melonking9752]

RAKI LET'S GOO BABY! (Writing this from Turkey)

[@jiru331]

🎉🎉🎉🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷

[@Bacontree]

I just gotta say dude, I love yer historical videos. They're great, and when I learn new stuff - I get happy.

[@nebojsajovanovic8701]

RAKIJA - Connecting people

[@couliseaux]

I have a barrel of tuica going in my cellar right now and I'm getting more plums this evening. It's been a good year for fruit.

[@bruhgo9477]

Abuse alcohol? i would never, i love alcohol too much.

[@djjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj]

Alcohol abuse? I'm pretty sure I'm using it the intended way thank you

[@lewyx8459]

Köszi János a vidit, jó vót :)

[@-WMD-Edutainment]

Ez a komment Horthy Miklós approved 👍

[@Valkbg]

Your research into history is exemplary. Especially in the Balkans where its hot pot of a mess.

[@Jayrodgerm]

I’m a Serbian with a liver made of radioactive isotopes. I can drink a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and survive… And I can also just drink E85 from the gas station, so drinking is cheap

[@LeCheeese]

Im on vacation in Romania rn at my grandma and grandpa. Yes i can confirm. Palinca is holy water for us

[@CyberWolf755]

The most common container for rakija is a plastic bottle, usually from water or soda. Many people accidentally grab rakija instead of cold water from the fridge, especially if the bottle is tinted green. My senile grandpa, who was usually bed ridden in his living room, tried to find some water and saw a green plastic bottle on his living room table, that would normally be filled with water.... but it wasn't. My mom came in a bit later to check on him and grandpa told her that the water that she left on the table was weird, spicy even. She was confused until she saw a half empty green plastic bottle and realized that grandpa drank ~200ml of rakija 🤣🤣🤣

[@PhaseControlDNB]

That sneaky frame of Roman at 0:09 :D

[@pixalien3530]

Who?

[@persianguy3081]

Nfkrz

[@PhilomarinusPalianus]

​@@pixalien3530 Roman. He is a Russian youtuber.

[@elitakos5381]

raki is the greatest drink in the world if you are cold you drink to warm up if you are hot you drink to cool down if you are sick you drink to get better

[@JayBurns-w8k]

By accepting yourself and being fully what you are, your presence can make others happy.

[@emanuelsadu263]

Another use of rachia was as a form of currency. My grandparents made 100 plus liters of rachie every year. They would use it to pay workers for jobs to hard for them to do anymore. In the village there was a lot of manual labour, especialy for old people, that was exclusivly paid in rachie.

[@CommanderSparrow]

Rakija fixes everything.

[@spirofarmaku6772]

No it doesn't

[@616nikola]

@@spirofarmaku6772 yes it dos it fixes everything

[@xilongma4794]

​@@spirofarmaku6772American moment

[@turky6834]

@@spirofarmaku6772 it does believe me :)

[@PraviLukijanJC]

my grandparents put Rakija on their legs because they have pain there.

[@DarkGladiator0]

0:56 how can i find this song?

[@ced-forgot-name]

It's called anprim anthem

[@DarkGladiator0]

@@ced-forgot-name thanks a lot :)

[@thegrimcritic5494]

That was actually a fantastic video. Well done man.