Observing Local Customs with Hard Alcohol
If you spend time with Slovaks, sooner or later you will gain first-hand experience with tvrdý alkohol – hard alcohol. Typically, it could be connected with a toast on a special occasion, or some type of home-made schnapps could be on hand as a drink of choice of people you are spending time with.
Alcohol can be an uncomfortable subject for some. Additionally, if you consider the fact that customs and traditions are tied to alcohol in Slovakia, some might feel a bit awkward or anxious about just what is expected when you are asked to participate in a toast with hard alcohol.
There are a few things I have learned about how to handle situations that involve drinking, particularly hard alcohol. For example, if your host wants to make a toast and is pouring you a shot, you’d better have a darn good reason why you can’t drink it, or you may be insulting your host by refusing. If you will not be doing yourself physical harm by drinking the single shot, you’ll avoid a lot of hassle if you just drink it, even if you don’t want to. I know, that sounds terrible, but there you have it in a nut shell. After you have accepted the one shot, you will probably be offered another (or even poured another when you are not quick enough to put a hand over your glass). But you are under absolutely no obligation to drink the second offer. Don’t feel guilty because you think it will go to waste if you don’t drink it. Juice is more expensive than home made hard alcohol. You have done the bare minimum by drinking the first.
Something else important to know: if you say no the first time, you are likely going to be asked SEVERAL times again to drink. At first this used to make me angry. I used to think to myself, “Didn’t he understand the first time? I said ‘no’, didn’t I?” With my own family and friends, if you say ‘no’ once you aren’t pressured into changing your mind. This is not the case in Slovak society. It is customary, particularly with the older generations, to decline the first or second offer and accept by the third. That’s important to remember if your frustration is mounting when people won’t take no for an answer. Also, a host will feel that duty has been met if you have accepted at least the customary “welcome” drink. Though I can’t guarantee that you’ll be left alone after that, at least the pressure is off of you to drink more.
When I came to Slovakia at age 25, I had little to no experience with hard alcohol. After a while I even learned to like some of it. I learned that a single shot of borovička – distilled from juniper berries (image, right), can be quite enjoyable before a meal, and that I cannot stand the taste of slivovica – distilled from plums. Once I remember being pressured (by my grandmother-in-law, no less) into drinking a shot of Becherovka – a hard alcohol made with herbs, originally from Czechia, before a big meal where we were celebrating some special event. I had never believed in the “medicinal qualities” of alcohol that so many Slovaks spoke of. But after I finished that huge meal that would typically have left me feeling too full, I realized that I never felt better and the Becherovka in all fairness helped.
I can’t decide if this is a sad fact or not, but hard alcohol plays a role in Slovak culture. I’ll never forget when I attended an out-door folk festival with some Slovak friends. After the first day, we slept on the floor in a school close to the festival grounds that had to be opened to accommodate attendees because it had stormed at night and people couldn’t sleep outside. Several folk groups and ensembles slept at the school too, and in the morning the young people started dancing and singing, and the musicians began playing. We were treated to an impromptu mini-concert, much to our delight. I was sitting on the floor with so many other spectators when I saw a bottle being passed down the row. The liquid was clear—a dead give away that it’s something that will burn a hole in your gut. I knew I had become accepting of norms regarding alcohol when I didn’t even pause before having a taste myself. I couldn’t shake the guilt though, that I was skating close to depravation, even from just one swig. I looked at my watch and it was only a little after 9:00am. Goodness gracious!
The bottom line with alcohol for me is, if you are not doing yourself physical harm, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”.
10 Comments on “Observing Local Customs with Hard Alcohol”
Alcohol is a part of life here in Slovakia - unlike US, the government cares little about premature drinking - you can see a lot of 15-16 teenagers sitting around in pubs or parks drinking hard (besides Becherovka isn't hard alcohol) booze and there is no problem of buying it (and it's really cheap, you can get 0.7l of vodka for like 4-5$) As for the festival you mentioned - especially young people (like myself ;) tend to get drunk before the action and leave drunk (among other things) with only little stops for sleeping. Also it's a custom to get the bottle "rolling" around and trust me, you're lucky when it doesn't come back empty ;o) Your blog is great, keep up the good work!
February 18th, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Alcohol is very much part of life in Slovakia. It is hard to say No and is an insulr if you refuse. In village i visit most people make their own hard alcohol and drink it often. I would agree that it is polite to drink one, but OK to refuse after that. In general I would say that people are kind and hospitable and as such it is hard to refuse such hospitality. You do see people drunk in the street or wandering into the road, which can be dangerous. I have nearly knocked down a couple of people!! However it is not a major problem. My young son did have a drunk person fall on him at folk festival!!
March 4th, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Haha.. i would say that drinking is a part of socialising in Slovakia. maybe it has a connection with the fact that Slovaks are generally shy people by nature - but only till they start to drink:) just one rule to add and that is "know your limits"..and enjoy!
December 4th, 2008 at 11:38 PM
My wife is from Slovakia (Lucia) and we go and visit every year. I love (seriously love) slivovica. My Slovak family sends me some home made stuff for Christmas and my Brithday. My family here in America are always trying to get me to send them some as well. It was very popular at our wedding in Zlate Morvace among the Americans. Good stuff!
December 7th, 2008 at 03:31 PM
Bratislava is great in that you can always take a taxi or the trams. My adorable neighbor, the 80+ year old Pani Babka, used to ply me with homemade hootch at all hours of the day. "But I have to drive!" I would whine. "It's soft," she'd day. "It has herbs!" It was good stuff, but I would have to stall before driving. Or cross my fingers.
December 21st, 2008 at 06:07 PM
I’m an Englishman married to a Slovak, and frequently visit Žilina in Slovakia. Being a vodka drinker I feel quite at home with the alcohol offered in Slovakia :-) As previously mentioned, hard alcohol would seem to be an integral part of many Slovaks lives, but not all as we have friends who don’t touch a drop. Whenever we visit friends or family, I am always offered a shot of Slivovica, Hhruskovica, Borovica or Jablkovica (to name just a few). Quite often these are “home brewed” and can be pretty strong! I’ll be honest; Borovica is probably my least favourite as it like drinking a Christmas tree (you’ll know what I mean). I find that often, out of courtesy you feel obliged to have at least one drink with the host (unless driving), but can politely refuse any more without fear of offending. But… more often than not I end up stumbling blindly home, being nudged in the right direction by my wife. A trick I learned is not to shoot the whole glass back in one go. If you do your glass will magically refill itself! Try and make your shot glass last about 4 “na zdravie” and you’ll stay sober longer ;-) Many Slovak women prefer to drink more subtle alternatives and leave the potent drinks to the men. Slovak beer is very good :-) There are many nationally recognised brands and also many locally brewed beers. So many that the choice seems nearly endless, I particularly like Šariš and Zlatý Bažant. As Michael & Lucia mentioned, I too get a number of bottles of “home brewed” Slivovica to take back to the UK to “keep me going”. We are also regularly visited by friends and family from Slovakia, who also bring a couple of bottles for me just in case I’ve run out! I also like to bring as many bottles of st Nicolaus Vodka Jemna back with me as I can as it has a nice smooth taste (plus whatever takes my fancy at Bratislava airport). I received loads of bottles of Slivovica (some over 30 years old), vodka etc. at my wedding in Žilina 2008. As I had driven to Slovakia on this occasion, they knew I could refuse any of it using my usual excuse that I would exceed my 20 kilos luggage allowance. I have a set of shelves at home that are crammed with so many bottles of drink that people visiting the house swear I’m a raging alcoholic. The Slivovica is very popular when playing drinking games! Oh god perhaps I am an alcoholic! *** Please note*** There is a zero alcohol drink drive limit in Slovakia. Something that should be adopted in the UK!
January 25th, 2009 at 08:54 PM
Your describtion is funny. THere are different tradition in different parts of country. I think Slovaks overdo it, but at least it is SOCIAL drinking unlike drinking alone or in windowless bars. There is no shame associated with drinking. It is slightly weird when you do not want to drink. Either you are recovering alcoholic or some religious weirdo. You could always say that you do not drink hard alcohol. SLovaks are hospitable and will offer you something else. It is about connecting. Do not be afraid of insulting anybody. Your drink will be consumed by other willing participant. What I noticed is commmon misperception is offering multiple times drink or food in Slovakia. Other cultures think that this is so pushy, one NO is enough. You have to understand that many Slovaks are polite and do not partake food or drink on first time, or they limit themselves to one piece and host to be polite and considerate. So then host has to encourage to take seconds.
March 30th, 2009 at 04:38 PM
Had sooo much laughs reading the article and the comments! This is just a second article but I have to bookmark this for my wife Lisa who is Australian :) Oh god, how weird and slightly chilling is to read such sharp and bold (and spot on) takes on my country. Well, as it seems it's taken with humor, nevertheless! A bottle of a good old home made brew (or shall I say distillate) is sometimes worth more than a brick of gold. Unless you will be willing to go and exchange that gold for more bottles of home stuff haha! I'm just kidding. It could be a problem for some but mostly it is social as it has been mentioned and it certainly has something to do with the shyness but who knows what was first - spirit or dove sole (holubicia povaha)?
June 4th, 2009 at 07:31 AM
Hi i am a Brit and have been in Bratislava since Jan2009, yes drinking is very much a part of Slovak culture, be warned the local beers are often much stronger than many UK beers as ive noticed among the many stag and hen parties who venture here over the weekends. i have found my self drinking more here than at home as socially my Slovak friends spend more time in the pubs, i agree with Margaret the local peach schnaps is -to me- disguisting and can result with a nasty hangover. enjoy your visit
June 11th, 2009 at 02:07 PM
Hi, i am an english man with a slovak girl friend, that i might say is gorgeous, must be the healthy diets slovaks have. i have been visiting brezno, her home town for 4 years now. the language i find very difficult to understand in terms of grammer. ive picked up some phrases and words to help me on the way, but was wondering if anyone knows a good way to improve the language, any cd or book would help. ive got a slovak wedding to attend in an hour so wish me luck. unlimited slivovica and hrushka,
June 27th, 2009 at 10:10 AM