MELBOURNE | Rakija is a Balkan spirit (fruit brandy to be precise) that I’m very familiar with given my Greek Macedonian heritage. For many years, the only versions I was familiar with were the strong backyard dedo versions of varying quality. If you grew up with it, you get it, and its nostalgic, but it certainly ain’t winning any awards.
As I’ve broadened my horizons, most recently in Serbia, I’ve discovered a new world of rakija. Versions of the spirit distilled by trained distillers, with proper equipment and quality control. As is the case with many things, good versions of rakija are quite excellent.
Rakija isn’t particularly well known in Australia by those who don’t have Balkan heritage, so imagine my surprise when I learnt about a new distillery in Melbourne that was brewing the stuff. It’s name is Nubilum Distilling, and I visited the other day for What’s on Melbourne.
Nubilum (Latin for ‘fog’) was born in 2020 when friends Kat, Rupert, and Will decided that they wanted to introduce Melburnians to spirits that reflected the community that they loved. During lockdown, they were introduced to traditional spirits by their elderly neighbours, who hailed from places like Ukraine, Colombia, Iran, and Italy. They saw that these traditional spirits were fading from memory in the community, so did something about it.
For distiller Will, there’s a further personal connection to rakija in particular. He moved to Melbourne from country Queensland when he was 15, and spent his formative years in St Albans. The mates he made when he moved to Melbourne were mostly of Balkan heritage, and he fell in love with the cultures, and rakija. He formed an interest in distilling while at uni, and the rest is history.
Behind the bar you’ll usually find one of the owners serving customers, happy to have a chat and guide you through what they do. There’s straight spirits, cocktails, and a few beers, wines, and non-alcoholic options from the area on offer. Everything distilled here is small batch and seasonally driven, using locally sourced fruit and ingredients where possible. Will loves experimenting, and there’s always something new and interesting to try.
The current batch of the lemon spirit, is made using lemons from neighbouring gardens. It’s similar to limoncello, but a much less sweet spirit, rather than liquor. It’s based on a recipe that Will was given by a nonna in Italy a while back, when he spent a few months travelling through villages around Europe, meeting locals and learning about their traditional spirits and recipes.
As for the rakija, the two flagships are the pear and plum (slivovitz). Both are made using excess fruit from local farms that would have otherwise gone to waste, and are excellent. The pear, in particular, is a great substitute in cocktails that would normally use tequila. I highly recommend trying the pear rakija margarita. Other spirits include things like a blueberry skin infused rakija, and one of the tastiest Aussie dark rums around.
If you book in advance, you can do a tasting masterclass run by Will. If you’re hungry, you can order in food.
Nubilum Distilling
22 Thompson Street
Kensington
Victoria 3031
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9113 6033
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Wed – Thu: 4:00pm to 8:00pm
Fri: 4:00pm to 9:00pm
Sat: 1:00pm to 9:00pm
Sun: 1:00pm to 7:00pm