Indulgences

1. Ракия

   Ra-ki-ya

   Rakiya (fruit brandy)

   Usage

   A strong spirit distilled from fermented fruit; colourless unless aged in barrels, which turns it yellow to brown. Served in small glasses at the start of a meal alongside салата. Caution: it is strong — refuse at the outset if you are driving. Shop-bought is купешка, home-made is домашна

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; definite ракията. The diminutive ракийка is the friendly "let's have a little one" form

2. Гроздова ракия

   Groz-do-va ra-ki-ya

   Grape rakiya

   Usage

   Rakiya made from grapes — with сливова (plum), the most common kind. Menus often shorten it to just гроздова

3. Сливова ракия

   Sli-vo-va ra-ki-ya

   Plum rakiya

   Usage

   Rakiya made from plums, also known by the one-word name сливовица; троянска сливовица, from Troyan, is the best-known

4. Мастика

   Mas-ti-ka

   Mastika (strong anise spirit)

   Usage

   A colourless spirit flavoured with anethole from star anise, aniseed or fennel. Caution: Bulgarian regulation requires at least 47% ABV for a drink to be called мастика. Served very cold; adding water turns it milky white

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; definite мастиката. Caution: the same word also means mastic resin, so outside a drinks context it is something else

5. Мента

   Men-ta

   Mint liqueur

   Usage

   A sweet mint liqueur, typically around 25% ABV, sold green or colourless (бяла мента); also called ментовка. Caution: мента is also the mint plant itself, so outside a drinks order it need not mean the liqueur

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; definite ментата

6. Мавруд

   Mav-rud

   Mavrud (native red grape and the wine from it)

   Usage

   A native dark grape with large berries; the red wine made from it carries the same name. Firmly tannic. On a wine list the grape name doubles as the label name

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; definite маврудът / мавруда. The adjective is маврудов, as in маврудово вино

7. Широка мелнишка лоза

   Shi-ro-ka mel-nish-ka lo-za

   Shiroka Melnishka Loza (red grape of the Melnik area)

   Usage

   A late-ripening, high-quality red grape grown around Petrich and Sandanski in the south-west, giving good table and dessert wines. Labels sometimes shorten it to Мелник

8. Гъмза

   Gam-za

   Gamza (red grape of the north-west)

   Usage

   An old red variety grown mainly in the north-west and north-centre; the same grape is known as Кадарка in Hungary and Romania. Late-ripening, in the second half of September

   Grammar Note

   Feminine; definite гъмзата. Note the spelling with ъ — гъмза, not гамза

9. Димят

   Di-myat

   Dimyat (native white grape)

   Usage

   An aromatic white grape with round yellow-green berries, used both for wine and for the table. It gives dry white wines and is also distilled into гроздова ракия

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; definite димятът / димята

10. Бира

    Bi-ra

    Beer

    Usage

    A low-alcohol fizzy drink brewed from barley and hops. Наливна бира is draught, бутилка is a bottle, черна бира is dark beer. Note: selling alcohol to under-18s is prohibited in Bulgaria

    Grammar Note

    Feminine; definite бирата. Пиво is a synonym, but бира is the everyday word

11. Цигари

    Tsi-ga-ri

    Cigarettes

    Usage

    Caution: Bulgaria's Закон за здравето (Health Act) prohibits smoking in enclosed public places as a rule, so you cannot smoke inside a restaurant — check whether the terrace has ashtrays. Тютюн is the word for the tobacco leaf itself

    Grammar Note

    Plural of the feminine noun цигара; definite цигарите. A single one is една цигара

12. Наргиле

    Nar-gi-le

    Hookah (water pipe)

    Usage

    A pipe that draws smoke through a bottle of scented water and a long hose to cool it. Caution: because indoor smoking is prohibited, places serving наргиле usually seat you outside

    Grammar Note

    Neuter; definite наргилето, plural наргилета

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