slivovitz

thumb|250px|Traditional distilling process in Međimurje County|Međimurje (northern [[Croatia)]] thumb|Serbian Slivovitz from Valjevo region Slivovitz is a fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) made from damson plums, often referred to as plum spirit (or plum brandy). Slivovitz is produced in Central and Southeastern Europe, both commercially and privately. Primary producers include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. In the Balkans, slivovitz is considered a kind of rakia. In Hungary it is considered a kind of pálinka, but in Romania and Moldova it is considered pălincă, similar to țuică. In the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Galicia, and Carpathian-Ruthenia it is considered pálenka. UNESCO put it in a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists in 2022 on request of the country of geographic origin Serbia.

==Etymology== The word slivovitz derives from Proto-Slavic 'plum' (, or slíva, , /шљива, or ) with the diminutive suffix (; -ice in Czech). Distilled spirits from different fruits are named similarly. For example, Czech 'apricot' → 'apricot spirit'; 'peach' → 'peach spirit'. Other names include slivovitza, slivovitsa, șliboviță, šljivovica, śliwowica, Schlivowitz, slivovice, slivovica, and slivovka.