Distillation

Bulgaria's customs agency has reported finding 2,356 litres of alcohol without labels signifing paid excise duty in two monasteries.

Mobile inspection teams found the larger amount of illegal "rakija", or fruit brandy, namely 1,500 litres kept in plastic bottles and canisters, in a cellar of the Troyan monastery in northern Bulgaria.

The 10th Rakija Fest will be held at Belgrade's Mikser House venue on December 3, under the title, "Balkan Urban Experience."

The Tourism Organization of Belgrade said that visitors will "get warmed" by rakija (Serbian for fruit, most commonly plum brandy) as well as "many Serbian delicacies, and specialty sweets."

Four young men have died and other two are in critical conditions after drinking counterfeit alcohol during celebrations, media outlets report.

Police and doctors confirm alcohol poisoning was the most likely cause of the incident which took place in a neighborhood of Yakoruda, a town in the Rhodope Mountains.

Crafted on the small island of Chios, Greece, FOS Mastiha is taking the world by storm. And the clear spirit made from the mastic resin of the “crying trees” of Chios, the herbal digestif is found to be ideal for mixed drinks. Miami spirits producer Ambrosia group launched the drink in its new form, designed to be used in cocktails.

Distillers in Greece were aghast on Sept.25 over EU demands for the abolition of long-running tax exemptions believed to cost the cash-strapped state millions of euros in lost revenue.

Despite the drought, Bulgaria expects the harvest of grape to reach around 200 million kilogrammes, which will represent a double increase compared to last year.

This was announced by the chairperson of the National Vine and Wine Chamber Radoslav Radev in an interview for Trud daily.

Bulgarian archaeologists recently discovered an 11th century fragment of a distillation vessel used for the production of the country's traditional fruit brandy, which is known as rakia.

The fragment was uncovered during the excavation works, which are being conducted by the National Historical Museum (NIM) at the medieval Lyutitsa fortress.

A Turkish Petroleum Refineries Company (TÜPRA?) refinery in the Aegean province of ?zmir caught on fire, with a 160-liter oil tank lying along its production stream, Do?an News Agency reported on July 17.

A brief period of high profitability for the world?s oil refineries is likely to come to an end as quickly as it began, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on July 10.

The woman a Village Voice magazine cover recently called “America’s Sweetheart of Smut”, the beautiful Stoya,  toured central Athens’ Exarchia district last weekend, tweeting her experiences of drinking raki and listening to local “media types” to fans around the world.