LCBO Food and Drink Autumn 2016

I remember a fabulous dinner, 25 years ago, in Dubovac castle in what was still Yugoslavia—a succession of heavy game dishes to match the shadowy racks of antlers on the ancient panelled walls. Between each course my generous host insisted we down a shot of sljivovica, the potent local plum eau de vie, “to aid digestion and refresh our palates,” he said. I found the effect was more numbing than refreshing and it did no favours to the wines I was trying to taste, but the sljivovica itself was Maraska Stara Sljivovica LCBO 233627, $26.80

delicious—dry and clean and filling my head with the scent of purple plums. The very same spirit can be found here— Maraska Stara Sljivovica, made in Croatia, slightly yellowed and smoothed from time spent in oak barrels, presented in a uniquely decorative bottle shaped like a glass wheel. This is powerful stuff but, like all well-made eaux de vie, it’s not about the alcohol; the spirit is only there to capture, hold and finally release the soul of the fruit from which it is made.

90  FOOD & DRI NK AUTUMN 2016