It is considered that our small Blue planet started its journey around the Sun
4.5B years ago. First unicellular organisms appeared half a billion years later.
Science claims that yeast history is over 200M years old. The appearance of
modern fruit plants, more than 125M years ago, could have led to the appearance
of the yeast that used simple sugars for food. It is assumed that the first
fermentation is about as old as the first fruit. The question is, however,
which came first, the fruits or the yeast strain that feeds upon them?
The chicken or the egg, that is the question! The answer lays in the evolution.
It is believed that the first Homo Sapiens, a "wise" man, anatomically
modern human, appeared 200K years ago. The first use of yeast is allegedly older
than the first alphabet. Hieroglyphics state that the ancient Egyptians used yeast
and fermentation process to make alcoholic beverages and yeast bread more
than 5K years ago. By the invention of the microscope, Louis Pasteur could
identify the living organisms responsible for the process of alcoholic
fermentation in the late 1860s. The first alcoholic distillation of fermented
content in a technologically efficient way was carried out in the 8th century
by the Arabic alchemist Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan. But, distilled alcohol was
used exclusively for ritual or medicine. The first documented use of distilled
alcohol as a drink was at the Italian medical school in the 12th century.
The first book on the subject,The Art of Simple Distillation printed
in 1500 by Hieronymus Braunschweig, treats distilled alcohol as medicine.
One of the first travelogue, John Taylor's The Penniless Pilgrimage printed
in 1618, mentions "aqua vitae" as distilled alcohol used for recreational drinking.
Distilling had finally found its audience.
My from-soil-to-rakija technology focuses on researching and documenting
all the steps and procedures involved in the final quality of the rakija.
The pursuit for perfect rakija is an infinitely interesting and inspiring
journey that brings joy. Bottled rakija is a success we all celebrate.
This rakija is made in an artisan manner using all five senses.
The fragrance of fruits, the taste of distillate, the face of fire,
the warmth of pot still and the sound of rakija flow. In addition,
I use modern and high-quality devices, tools and equipment, but with
traditional approach using double distillation. Every rakija I transfuse
from a fruit into the bottle has its story with ID card on origin, age
and status. Čardaklija is a rakija that joins people with their memories.
For more information:
podrum@cardaklija.com
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