RAKIA ARKANA abv.42% 700ml

Arkana is made of 100% Muscat Ottonel grapes. The aroma is intense and distinctive for Muscat brandies. The typical rose notes are detected, but here in the spectrum of pleasant locum aromas, which quickly pass into surprising smoky nuances of sandalwood and sweet spices - cardamom, cloves and brown sugar. The taste begins with a soft and gentle attack that brings a gentle sensation of white flowers, gul leaves, followed by softly hinted notes of bergamot, dried apricot and wood bark. The aftertaste is long, multi-layered and leaves a reminder of a pleasant honey note on the palate.

Terroir: The vineyards are located on the low, hilly slopes of Sredna Gora, in the region of the village of Lesichovo, between 250-350m above sea level, with uniform exposure to the sun. The Topolnitsa River crosses the village in its lower course and is a leading factor for the mild microclimate, contributing to the full and timely ripening of the grapes. They are grown organically, without the use of pesticides and herbicides, and are nourished by manure and weeding between the rows. The majority of the 13,4 ha of vineyards are young - 3-4 years old, but the company also repaires some old vineyards with the Muscat Otonell variety (over 50 years old), and also owns about 2 ha with well developed 10-11-year-old vines in active fruiting. The 4 different locations around the village of Lesichovo clearly shows the influence of the terroir even at such a micro level. This helps a lot for the successful selection of the grapes already in the field - according to the degree of ripening and organoleptic characteristics, which in turn contributes to the separation of the grapes according to qualitative and quantitative properties even before the vinification process.

Vinification and distillation: At the end of August and the beginning of September, a completely manual selective grape harvest is carried out in crates, which are transported to the distillery for additional selection before fermentation. Part of the grapes is pressed and fermented in a liquid phase. The rest of the grapes are crushed, after which fermentation takes place with the skins. This helps to better extract aromatic substances during the process and preserve them in the wine material subjected to subsequent distillation. Alcoholic fermentation continues for two weeks, after which the wine material passes to the distillation stage. The distillation itself takes place in distillation apparatuses with periodic action, which are equipped with a  column and a water dephlegmator. The distillation is fractional, by separating the first, middle and tail fractions. The process has the advantage to adjust the parameters, which helps for target separation of the middle fraction and collection of a better quality distillate. After distillation, part of the produced raw material for Muscat brandy goes through a stage of aging in barrels - up to 6 months, in 225l and 500l barrels of Bulgarian oak. The final blend combines 2/3 aged distillate and 1/3 unaged, stored in stainless steel vessels.

Tasting notes: The colour shows very light golden hues, the result of the short aging of part of the distillate in oak barrels. The aroma is intense and distinctive for Muscat brandies. The typical rose notes are detected, but here in the spectrum of pleasant locum aromas, which quickly pass into surprising smoky nuances of sandalwood and sweet spices - cardamom, cloves and brown sugar. The taste begins with a soft and gentle attack that brings a gentle sensation of white flowers, gul leaves, followed by softly hinted notes of bergamot, dried apricot and wood bark. The aftertaste is long, multi-layered and leaves a reminder of a pleasant honey note on the palate.

Pairing with food: Try Arkana rakia on its own as an aperitif or digestif. Go beyond the standard salad pairing and experiment with cocktails (we recommend Rakia Sour, Rakia Merry) as well as main dishes without strong spice flavors.