Tuica: It’s the Real Thing!
There comes a point in a man’s life when he just can’t face another paella. And in my case, that point came after my sixth year of living in Spain. So I was beyond thrilled when a family of Romanian friends living in nearby Guadalajara invited me over to their apartment for an authentic, old country meal.
And as I sat in their living room fantasizing about the imminent arrival of pork-stuffed cabbage rolls, I was taken aback when the father, Viorel, approached me carrying a plastic, two liter Coca-Cola bottle filled with a liquid that clearly wasn’t Coca-Cola.
“This question frightens me, Viorel, but…what are you about to make me drink?” I asked.
To which he barked, “Romanian oil!”
But it wasn’t oil, at all. It was Tuica (pronounced, chew-EE-kuh).
Tuica is a traditional Romanian liquor distilled from plums. It smells and tastes like…well, like plums. But surprising to me, at least…is isn’t overly sweet. Only faintly so. And it’s strong—around 80 proof, in my best estimation.
The Tuica we drank was—like most Tuica in Romania—homemade. This particular batch was artfully crafted by the father of Viurel’s daughter-in-law, Catalina.
I asked Catalina how her father makes his incredibly tasty Tuica. And although much was probably lost in translation, she broadly described the process as follows. Her father packs ripe plums into a wooden barrel and lets them sit for a month. Then he distills the liquid using a fire-powered brass still. Then—because he’s a proud man who likes his liquor on the smooth side—he ages the freshly-distilled Tuica in a wood barrel for at least another month before “bottling.”
Catalina’s explanation surprised me a bit. I had naively assumed that her father made the Tuica by simply macerating the fruits in a neutral grain alcohol. This is, after all, how many do-it-yourself Spaniards make Patxaran. But no…the Tuica that Viorel and I enjoyed was no mere alcoholic tea. It was full-fledged, Romanian moonshine. And I doubt that Uncle Jesse could make a better one.
I’ve since surfed the Internet to learn more about Tuica, and read that, in Romania, a single shot is typically served as an aperitif. But my host, Viorel, seemed to be reading from a different best-practices manual. We did indeed have one shot of Tuica as an aperitif—followed by at least three more.
Then, after dinner, what did we have as a digestif? That’s right…more Tuica! But this time, it was served hot with sugar and whole peppercorns.
Virgil once warned the world to beware of Greeks bearing gifts. But as far as I’m concerned…Romanians bearing plastic, two-liter Coca-Cola bottles is a reason to rejoice.
Thanks for posting the info, I thought I had a water bottle of Absinthe or something! 
Thank you for the note about pronunciation. I showed the article to one of my partner’s kids and she asked, “What is it?”
The photo is fabulous.
Why have I only just learned of this drink?
Is it similar to Asian plum wine?
Is it bottled and sold anywhere outside friendly Romanian households?