My Bulgarian neighbour usually asks me to look after his mail and keep an eye on the place when he goes on holidays. Every time he returns bearing a bottle of “Bulgarian brandy”, or “rakia” as a gift.
Pictured is this years bottle, which he gave me with the apology that “mostly we make our own brandy which is better, but I hope this is good.”
Now, a couple of years ago he came back with some of that home made rakia.
I tried to drink it, I really did. But it didn’t matter what you mixed with it, it still tried to fry my tonsils.
Eventually, as I’d hurt my Achilles tendon, I ended up mixing the last dregs with a bit of water in a ziplock baggie and freezing it. It made a great cold pack (the alcohol lowers the freezing point so you end up with a mouldable ice pack.)
Now, I have absolutely no idea how to check if the bottle pictured is even brandy, not rat poison, since I can hardly enter the name into Google. There is a 40% number on the bottle, which presumably means 40% alcohol.
Ideas anyone? Is this a rakia for drinking, or a rakia for lying down and avoiding?
The Strange Adventures of Petunia Happenstance and her Chicken of Destiny 
But what does it taste like?
You won. You dominated. Come over to my place and see.
Home-made rakia is typically about 20% stronger than the mass-produced stuff so if anything this one should be more tolerable.
And I’m guessing that might be apricot.