Fruit & Raw Material

In July, apricots ripen on the sandy ridges between the Danube and the Tisza, and for the brandy, what counts isn't the prettiest fruit but the ripest. The product specification for Kecskeméti Barackpálinka requires that the delivered fruit come from a single variety, be at peak ripeness, and be free of rot and foreign matter.

Approved varieties include Magyar kajszi, Gönci Magyar kajszi, Pannónia, Ceglédi bíborkajszi, and Bergeron, along with other varieties authorized for cultivation in the area. One variety is named after Gönc, another after the town of Cegléd. Magyar kajszi simply means "Hungarian apricot," and the name shows just how closely fruit and land are bound together.

In the Hernád Valley near Gönc, the specification calls for fruit rich in minerals, sugar, carotene, and fruit acid, shaped by climate and soil. The result should be a brandy with a pronounced aroma and robust flavor. Here, too, only fruit from the designated villages may go into the mash.

Further south, on the sandy soils of the Homokhátság, grow the peaches used for Homokháti őszibarack pálinka. They must come from designated villages, including Mórahalom, Ásotthalom, Domaszék, Zákányszék, and Ruzsa. Alongside the apricot, then, the Great Plain also has its own peach pálinka.

In the Nagykunság, plums and quinces grow for the region's two protected pálinkas. Törkölypálinka, by contrast, comes from the wine cellar: it's distilled from fermented grape marc, making it a Hungarian marc brandy much like Grappa or Marc, and has been listed in the EU register since 2008.