More than 15,000 guests from across Bulgaria visited the town of Apriltsi in the Central Balkan Range to join the festival of mulled rakiya (brandy) and the traditional Bulgarian bacon (slanina). The idea for the event emerged six years ago at the local Svetlina 1891 community center. Ever since the festival has been very popular and earlier this month the central square of Apriltsi was overcrowded. „People did not come for the drink, and no large quantities of brandy were drunk at all. People just came for the great atmosphere and to enjoy folk songs, dances, and the hospitality of the locals”, says Doncho Pachnikov, Chairman of the community center in Apriltsi.

“Brandy and bacon as an appetizer are honored and loved locally, and their quality is very high in this region. Nowhere else but high in the mountains, salted pork fat turns out so good, and it also keeps its properties throughout the year. We make brandy mainly from plums and apples. We grow fruit trees here, as there are no conditions for any other crops. The fruits of the trees are used to their full extent. Already in the past the finest fruit was set aside for sale. The rest of the fruit was placed in vats and left to ferment. We stick to this ritual today with a great sense of responsibility to the taste of brandy that we brew. Apriltsi is the home of great masters and connoisseurs of brandy. There are people who can guess who made the brandy by having a single sip.”

To make it pleasant and drinkable, instead of the required quantities of distilled water, our people add spring water brought from a special fountain in the mountain. In our region, when a man visits your house, the first job is to put on the table a salad and a glass of rakiya to go with it. We first have a bite, and only then ask the guest why he has come over. When one walks away from our home we always give him a piece of bacon and a bottle of brandy to remember us when he is back home”.

No one in Apriltsi drinks too much rakiya. It is made by people who value it as art and personal expression. Homemade brandy is the pride of the master, Apriltsi residents say, and they get angry for not getting an answer about the tax they have to pay to the national revenue for brandy quantities. The rules were much clearer 25 years ago, Doncho Pachnikov explains and wonders why these rules are no longer valid:

„We had a tax office in town where we registered and we also registered the quantities of rakiya and the brewing vessel. We paid the excise and got checked any moment. Now no one takes your money, there is no clarity how much you should pay. In the meantime though there are checks and fines for homemade brandy.”

Apriltsi folk will never quit rakiya because it is a famous way to "warm up" relations between people; it brings them closer together and inspires new contacts and friendships. "Tradition is present in almost every home in Apriltsi. Rakiya has already become a symbol of our hospitality, and the desire to preserve local Bulgarian habits and ways "- says Denitsa Nikolova, organizer of the popular festival in her hometown:

„The message of the festival is to turn our backs on the material times we live in and instead turn to the spirit of humanity, to the Bulgarian tradition. Not surprisingly, many guests wore folk costumes typical of our region. This created a more cheerful atmosphere. We welcomed guests from virtually every part of Bulgaria. The huge crowds that came to our small town scared us a little at first. But things went well. Famous folk singer Rayko Kirilov was the star of the event, and he sang the popular song My Country, My Bulgaria. To me the culmination of the event was the moment when I saw a sea of national tricolors waved by the people singing the song, absolutely thrilled.”

English Daniela Konstantinova