A record number of entries were received for the Brillante-2024 International Pálinka and Distilled Competition

Tímea Varga-Bora said that 1,353 samples were received this year, compared to 1,178 last year. A significant part of the entrants have been returning contestants for years, but an outstanding number of them have applied for the first time – he noted.

Most of the distillates, 219, came from grapes and grape-derived products this year. 97 samples of the fruit of the year, the quince, were submitted. Distillation has also arrived from Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Croatia, he said.

The submitted items were evaluated by a 23-member jury of recognized domestic and international judges at the beginning of April. They examined whether the taste and smell of the product is pure, and whether the character of the fruit used as raw material can be felt. In addition, the texture and the overall impression were also scored – he explained.