Szatmar Plum Palinka

Palinka is fruit brandy that by Hungarian and European law must be made in Hungary from fruit grown there, distilled without added sugar, flavouring or alcohol, and the Szatmar plum version carries its own protected designation. The Szatmar-Bereg plain in the far east of the country is plum country: old orchards of the small, dark penyige and nemtudom varieties, picked ripe, fermented and twice distilled, giving a spirit that keeps a strong plum character rather than tasting only of alcohol. Small distilleries around Fehergyarmat and Panyola run tastings and tours, and the same fruit goes into szilvalekvar, a thick sugar-free plum butter cooked down in copper pans for a day and eaten on bread.

What you actually see

• Old plum orchards - the penyige and nemtudom varieties grown here.
• Twice-distilled fruit spirit - no sugar, flavouring or added alcohol permitted.
• Small distillery tastings - producers around Fehergyarmat and Panyola.
• Szilvalekvar plum butter - the fruit cooked down for a day in copper.

When to go

September to November for the harvest and the distilling season, when the plum-cooking days happen. Half a day. Book tastings ahead; these are small producers.

Honest expectations

It is strong, typically 40 to 50 percent, and Hungary enforces a zero alcohol limit for drivers absolutely, so plan a driver. Home-distilled palinka offered privately is unregulated and quality varies wildly. The region is remote and producers are scattered.

Nearby

Turistvandi and Szatmarcseke are close; Csaroda lies north.