FIRST JOURNEYS - EASTERN EUROPEAN EXPEDITION- PIN 09B OF 17
BOROVIČKA, Slovakia - A Side Quest!
A ROAD TRIP WHERE EVERY STOP HAS A STORY
Borovička & Gin
Two spirits, one very familiar botanical
As I've touched on borovička in my previous stop in Slovakia, I thought I would go on a side quest and dig a little deeper into their traditional spirit. I did actually buy bottles of both those pictured, assuming one was gin, and now know it isn't!
Zizak makes the distinction confusing with its Borovička Juniper Gin. Despite “Gin” appearing on the name, this is a borovička, made from grain, fruit and juniper distillates. A useful reminder that a juniper spirit doesn't automatically become gin simply because the word appears on the label. If you are reading this, then you are probably one of the converted, so don't let me start preaching about the misuse of the word gin as a marketing term - let's just move on and learn more!
If you know your gin, you'll know that juniper is non-negotiable. But head into Slovakia and you'll find another spirit where juniper takes centre stage: borovička.
At first glance, the two can seem remarkably similar. Both are clear, juniper-led spirits and both commonly sit around the 40% ABV mark. So is borovička simply Slovak gin? Not quite.
Borovička is a traditional Central European spirit, particularly associated with Slovakia and the Czech lands. The name comes from borievka, the Slovak word for juniper, and the drink has a long connection with the country's mountains, forests and drinking culture. It even has the wonderfully dramatic nickname “pomsta z lesa” — “revenge from the forest.”
Common juniper, Juniperus communis, grows throughout Slovakia and has been used there for generations, not just for making spirits but in traditional folk and medicinal practices too. Its berries eventually found their way into the still, giving borovička its distinctive character.
The tradition goes back centuries, particularly around the Spiš and Tatra regions, where juniper distilling developed into an important local craft. What began as small-scale production eventually became a commercial industry, with different regions and distillers developing their own versions. That's important: borovička isn't one single recipe.
There are different styles and protected regional versions, including Spišská borovička and Trenčianska borovička JUNIPERUS. Some are made using juniper distillate, and the precise production methods vary between products. Which brings us to the obvious question... what's the difference?
Gin starts with agricultural ethyl alcohol, a clean, neutral spirit made from crops such as grain, potatoes or grapes. Juniper is then added as the defining botanical, and under UK and EU rules it must remain the predominant flavour of the finished spirit.
From there, things get much more interesting. In distilled gin, the spirit is redistilled with juniper and other natural botanicals, allowing their flavours and aromas to become part of the final spirit. Citrus peel, coriander, angelica, cardamom, liquorice, orris, herbs, spices, flowers and fruit are just some of the ingredients distillers use.
The choice of botanicals, how they are prepared and when they are introduced can all affect the finished gin. Some are distilled with the spirit, some can be infused or macerated, and distillers have developed countless ways of extracting the flavours they want.
That is why two gins can start with exactly the same essential ingredient — juniper — yet taste completely different. One might be bright and citrusy, another earthy and spicy, while another could be floral, herbaceous or intensely resinous.
Juniper makes it gin. Everything else is where the distiller gets to tell their story.
Borovička is made around juniper rather than simply being flavoured with it.
In the traditional process, ripe juniper berries are crushed, mixed with hot water, fermented with yeast and nutrients, and then distilled to create a juniper distillate. From there, the recipe depends on the regional style.
Spišská borovička combines its juniper distillate with grain spirit, a special juniper bonificateur — a juniper macerate enriched with essential oil recovered during distillation — liquid invert sugar and treated water. Dried juniper berries or a sprig can also be added to the bottle, giving the spirit its characteristic pale yellow tint as they steep.
Trenčianska borovička JUNIPERUS takes a slightly different route: its juniper distillate is made by double distilling fermented berries of common and prickly juniper, then ageing the distillate for at least 250 days in earthenware containers. It is then blended with refined neutral spirit and a small amount of liquid sugar. The result is two distinct expressions of the same Slovak juniper tradition — one built around a special juniper blend, the other around a long-aged juniper distillate.
That gives us a simple way of looking at it: With gin, juniper flavours the spirit. With borovička, juniper can actually help make the spirit and you can taste that difference. Borovička tends to put the juniper right at the front — resinous, woody, piney and unapologetically itself. Gin can be just as juniper-forward, but citrus, herbs, roots, spices and flowers can all pull the flavour in different directions.
One of the best examples of the connection between the two is Juniperus.
That is what makes the bottle particularly interesting to me and why I'm glad to have it on my shelf alongside borovička.
So, to sum it up, is borovička gin? No, but they are definitely relatives — and if you're exploring gin across Europe, borovička is one of those detours worth taking.
Borovička is just one part of Europe's wider juniper tradition. Jenever developed in the Netherlands and Belgium, Wacholder became the traditional juniper spirit of Germany, while Kranewitter is found in parts of Austria and Bavaria. Further east, Slovenia has brinjevec and Serbia has klekovača.
Each has its own history, production methods and character, yet all share that same unmistakable connection to juniper.
Once you start looking, Europe turns out to have rather a lot of ways of putting a juniper spirit in a glass.
Atlas Note: Kranebet
A few years ago, I was invited to the London launch of Kranebet Liqueur, and it seems rather fitting to bring it into this juniper story.
From Italy's Asiago Plateau, Kranebet is an interesting halfway point between traditional juniper spirits and modern gin. Created in 1924 as a juniper-based liqueur using botanicals from the Alpine landscape, the brand has since evolved into Kranebet Italian Botanical Gin.
The original Kranebet Antico still exists alongside it, giving us two generations of the same juniper tradition in the bottle.
It's another great example of how an established juniper spirit can evolve into gin without losing sight of where it came from.
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."