View source for Horilka

{{Short description|Ukrainian alcoholic beverage}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Horilka
| image = Хортиця Платинум.jpg
| image_size = 150px
| caption = ''Khortytsia Platinum'' horilka
| alternate_name = 
| country = [[Ukraine]]
| region = Eastern Europe
| creator = 
| course = 
| type = Alcoholic beverage
| served = 
| main_ingredient = [[Water]], [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]]
| variations = Flavoured vodka, [[Nalewka|nastoianka]]
| calories = 122
| serving_size = {{convert|50|ml|USfloz|abbr=on|disp=x|&nbsp;/&nbsp;}}
| other = 
}}

'''Horilka''' ({{langx|uk|горілка}} {{IPA|uk|ɦoˈr⁽ʲ⁾ilkɐ||audio=Uk-горілка.ogg}}; {{langx|be|гарэлка}} {{IPA|be|ɣaˈrɛlka||audio=Be-гарэлка.ogg}}) is a Ukrainian [[alcoholic beverage]].

The word ''horilka'' may also be used in a generic sense in the [[Ukrainian language]] to mean [[vodka]] or other strong [[Distilled beverage|spirit]]s and etymologically is similar to the Ukrainian word for 'to burn' - ''hority''. Home-distilled horilka, [[moonshine]], is called ''samohon'' ({{langx|uk|самогон|lit=self-distilled}} or 'self-run' - almost identical to the Russian and [[Polish language|Polish]] ''samogon''). Horilka is usually distilled from [[Cereal|grain]] (usually [[wheat]] or [[rye]]), though it can, less commonly, also be distilled from [[potato]]es,<ref name="Malko wu">{{cite web|last=Malko|first=Romko|url=http://www.wumag.kiev.ua/index2.php?param=pgs20052/156|title=Ukrainian Horilka — more than just an alcoholic beverage|work=Welcome to Ukraine Magazine|access-date=7 July 2017}}</ref> honey, [[sugar beets]] etc. One type of horilka, called ''pertsivka'' ({{langx|uk|перцівка}}), is horilka with chili peppers. Historically, outside Ukraine, pertsivka is generally referred to when people speak of horilka, although pertsivka itself is just one type of horilka.

It is believed that horilka was not as strong as today with about 20 percent alcohol by volume (40 [[Alcoholic proof|proof]]).<ref name="Malko wu"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Greenall|first=Robert|url=http://www.greenallrussia.com/ukraineandancientrus.htm|title=Ukraine and ancient Rus|publisher=greenallrussia.com|access-date=6 December 2006|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111094651/http://www.greenallrussia.com/ukraineandancientrus.htm|archive-date=11 November 2006}}</ref> However, today nearly all industrially produced horilka is 40 percent (80 [[Alcoholic proof|proof]]).

== Derivatives ==
Ukrainian tradition has also produced various derivatives of horilka. Some of these are available as commercial products, but most are typically home-made. This includes various kinds of fruit infusion, ''nalyvka'' and spiced ''[[spotykach]]'': ''agrusivka'' made with [[gooseberries]], ''anisivka'' ([[anise]] seeds), ''aivivka'' ([[quince]]), ''berezivka'' ([[birch]] leaves or buds), ''buriakivka'' ([[sugar beet]]s), ''chasnykivka'' ([[garlic]]), ''derenivka'' ([[Cornus mas|Cornelian cherries]]), ''dulivka'' ([[Pyrus elaeagrifolia|oleaster-leafed pears]]), ''horikhivka'' ([[Nut (fruit)|nut]]s), ''horobynivka'' ([[Sorbus|ashberries]]), ''hrushivka'' ([[pear]]s), ''kalhanivka'' ([[Potentilla erecta|tormentil]] roots), ''kalynivka'' ([[Viburnum opulus|guelder-rose]] berries), ''[[Hrenovuha|khrinovukha]]'' or ''khrinivka'' ([[horseradish]]), ''kmynivka'' ([[caraway]] seeds), ''[[kontabas]]'' ([[blackcurrant]] buds), ''malynivka'' ([[Raspberry|raspberries]]), ''mochena'' (citrus rind), ''mokrukha'' ([[orange (fruit)|orange]]s and [[clove]]s), ''morelivka'' or ''zherdelivka'' or ''abrykosivka'' ([[apricot]]s), ''ozhynivka'' ([[Blackberry|blackberries]]), ''polunychnyk'' ([[Strawberry|strawberries]]), ''polynivka'' ([[Artemisia absinthium|wormwood]]), ''porichkivka'' ([[redcurrant]]s or [[white currant]]s), ''pyriivka'' ([[Elymus repens|couch grass]] rhizomes), ''shapranivka'' ([[saffron]]), ''shypshynnyk'' ([[rose hip]]s), ''slyvianka'' or ''slyvovukha'' ([[plum]]s), ''smorodynivka'' ([[blackcurrant]]s), ''ternivka'' ([[Prunus spinosa|blackthorn]] berries), ''tertukha'' (crushed [[Fragaria vesca|woodland strawberries]]), ''tsytrynivka'' ([[lemon]]s), ''vyshniak'' or ''[[wiśniówka (liqueur)|vyshnivka]]'' ([[Prunus cerasus|sour cherries]]), ''yalivtsivka'' ([[Juniper berry|juniper berries]]), ''zviroboivka'' ([[Hypericum perforatum|St. John's wort]]), ''[[Żubrówka|zubrivka]]'' ([[bison grass]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-23 |title=Міцні напої: як називають їх українці |url=http://maydan.drohobych.net/?p=132818 |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Майдан |language=uk}}</ref> Horilka is also made with [[honey]] (called ''medova''), [[Mentha|mint]], or even [[milk]]. In some cases whole fruits of red peppers ([[capsicum]]) are put into the bottle, turning horilka into a sort of [[bitters]]; it is then named ''horilka z pertsem'', or ''pertsivka'' (one should be mindful of the usage: ''horilka z pertsem'' refers to ''horilka'' bottled with hot chilli peppers, whereas ''pertsivka'' typically refers to ''horilka'' spiced with the essence of pepper). ''Medova z pertsem'' is the combination of ''horilka'' with chili peppers and honey.

Most of these preparations are aged with fruit for several weeks or months, then strained or decanted. Some recipes call for the jars to be placed on the rooftop, for maximum bleaching by the sun. Many include the addition of home-made syrup for a strong [[liqueur]], others yield very dry, clear spirit. Some involve the [[fermentation (food)|fermentation]] of fruit as well as addition of horilka. Preparations which are baked in an oven, in a pot sealed with bread dough, are called ''zapikanka'', ''varenukha'' or ''palynka''.

==Traditions==
Horilka plays a role in [[Ukrainian wedding traditions|traditional weddings]] in [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Kononenko|first=Natalie|author-link=Natalie Kononenko|url=http://www.brama.com/art/wedding.html|title=Traditional Ukrainian Wedding Rituals|publisher=Brama-Gateway Ukraine|date=1998|access-date=7 July 2017}}</ref>

<blockquote>
And bring us a lot of horilka, but not of that fancy kind with raisins, or with any other such things — bring us horilka of the purest kind, give us that demon drink that makes us merry, playful and wild!

—''[[Taras Bulba]]'', by [[Nikolai Gogol]]<ref name="Malko wu"/>
</blockquote>

== Etymology ==
[[File:Ukrainischer horilka.jpg|thumb|Examples of horilka from popular Ukrainian brands]]
The word ''horilka'' is attested in 1562 (горилка) and 1678 (горѣлка). Dialectic variants are ''harilka'', ''horilash'', ''horilytsya'', ''horilets’'', ''horilukha'', ''zghorivka'', ''zorivka'', ''orilka'', as well as [[Western Ukrainian]] ''horivka'', ''horychka''.

The word comes from the same root as the verb ''hority'', ‘to burn’, similarly to [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] ''harelka'', south [[Russian language|Russian]] ''gorelka'', Czech ''kořalka'', and Slovak ''goralka'', ''goržolka''. It is considered to have come about following the [[Polish language|Polish]] example ''gorzałka'', possibly as an abbreviation of a compound word like ''horile vyno'' (‘burning wine’; compare the older word ''horěloe vyno'', горѣлое вино, attested in 1511) or ''horila(ya) voda'' (‘burning water’; compare early Czech ''pálená voda'' → ''pálenka'' or Hungarian/Transylvanian ''[[palinka]]''). It may be an adaptation of the early Old High German ''der brannte Wein'' → ''Branntwein''.<ref>Melnychuk, O.S. et al. (1982).''[http://litopys.org.ua/djvu/etymolog_slovnyk.htm Etymolohichnyy slovnyk ukrayins’koyi movy]'' (Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language), vol 1 (A–H), pp 566–7. Kiev: [[Ukrainian Academy of Science]].</ref><ref>[[Jaroslav Rudnyckyj|Rudnyc’kyj, J]] (1972). [http://litopys.org.ua/djvu/rudnycky_slovnyk.htm An Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language], vol 1 (A–G), pp 693–4. Winnipeg: Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences.</ref> Also compare English ''[[brandy]]'', short for ''brandywine'', from [[Dutch language|Dutch]] ''brandewijn'', ‘burning wine’.

==Pertsivka==
A ''pertsivka'' or ''horilka z pertsem'' ({{langx|en|pepper flavoured horilka}}) is the most widely associated type of horilka outside of Ukraine. It is made with whole fruits of [[capsicum]] put into the bottle, turning horilka into a sort of [[bitters]]. Sometimes pertsivka can be made also using honey, which is then called ''pertsivka z medom'' or ''medova z pertsem'' (honey-pepper flavoured horilka). 
[[Nemiroff]] is a Ukrainian brand actively promoting pepper horilka worldwide through the heavy use of [[product placement]] in [[film|cinema]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gappster.com/news/73/lady-gaga-for-nemiroff-vodka/|title=Lady Gaga For Nemiroff Vodka|publisher=gappster.com|date=15 November 2009|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122180634/http://www.gappster.com/news/73/lady-gaga-for-nemiroff-vodka/|archive-date=22 November 2009}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} The brand and company don't have long traditions but pertsivka production itself does.

==Production of horilka==
[[File:UkrainianVodkaStill.jpg|thumb|An old Ukrainian multi stage horilka still at the {{ill|Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Middle Dnieper Ukraine|uk|Музей народної архітектури та побуту Середньої Наддніпрянщини}} in [[Pereiaslav]]]]

Horilka that is bottled and sold by companies is usually distilled from [[wheat]] or [[rye]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bestofukraine.com/culture/ukrainian-cuisine/horilka.html|title=Horilka: A bit of history and some interesting facts|publisher=bestofukraine.com|access-date=7 July 2017}}</ref> Horilka may also contain honey or be distilled from honey, or contain chili peppers, mint or birch bud.<ref name=olimp>Example of horilka made from grain: "Soft" horilka advertisement. "[http://www.olimp.ua/ua/Bilenka_classik standard horilka distilled from grain and "soft" mineral water] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020074851/http://www.olimp.ua/ua/Bilenka_classik |date=2013-10-20 }}, from the Olimp website"</ref> 
The self-distilled alcoholic beverage is called samohon and is the homemade variety of horilka, akin to [[moonshine]].

==Brands==
*[[Hetman (brand)]]
*[[Khlibnyi Dar]]
*[[Khortytsia (company)|Khortytsia]]
*[[Kozatska Rada (brand)|Kozatska Rada]]
*[[Nemiroff]]
*[[Vozdukh (brand)]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Nemiroff Horilka.jpg|''[[Nemiroff]]'' Honey Pepper horilka
File:05558 zubrivka vodka.jpg|''Zlatohor'' [[zubrowka|zubrivka]]
File:Bernstein-wodka.jpg|Burshtinivka with real [[amber]]
File:Куманець з темно коричневої глини.jpg|''Kumanets'' - a traditional Ukrainian clay jug used for horilka and other strong drinks
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}
*{{wiktionary-inline|horilka}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204082912/http://homedistiller.org/ukraine.htm Ukrainian Alcoholic Beverages]

{{portalbar|Liquor|Drink|Ukraine}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}

[[Category:Ukrainian distilled drinks]]
[[Category:Horilkas| ]]
[[Category:Ukrainian alcoholic beverages]]