Horilka

Horilka (Belarusian:гарэлка, Ukrainian:горілка) is a Ukrainian alcoholic beverage. The word horilka may also be used in a generic sense in the Ukrainian language to mean vodka or other strong spirits and etymologically is similar to the Ukrainian word for burning - hority. Home-distilled horilka, moonshine, is called samohon (Ukrainian:самогон, literally ‘self-distillate’ or ‘self-run’ - almost identical to the Polish:samogon). Horilka is usually distilled from grain (usually wheat or rye), though it can, exceptionally, also be distilled from potatoes, honey, sugar beets etc. One type of horilka, called pertsivka (Ukrainian:перцівка), is horilka with chili peppers. Historically, outside Ukraine, pertsivka is generally referred to when people speak of horilka, although pertsivka itself is just one type of horilka.