Szabolcsi apple pálinka was named the best of the year at the national pálinka competition

The president of the Pálinka National Council (PNT), which organized the competition, László Mihályi, highlighted that only three entries had to be excluded from the competition, which clearly shows that the quality of domestic pálinkas is improving and that they meet strict regulatory requirements. According to the analytical tests carried out by Nébih, only 5 percent of the inspected pálinkas were problematic, which is the best rate within the alcoholic beverage category.

The most successful distillery in the competition was 1 Csepp Pálinka from Rábafüzes, followed by Sáppuszta and Cibakházi Pálinkafőzde in second place, and Cibakházi Pálinkafőzde in third place. The best batch, over 10,000 bottles, was the black cherry pálinka from Bolyhos Pálinkafőzde.

According to Olga Beáta Felkai, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, pálinka is not only part of Hungarian culture, but also our legally protected national drink. At the same time, pálinka distilleries face serious challenges: for example, this year, fruit yields have decreased due to frosts, which has led to an increase in production costs. At the same time, climate change is also enabling the emergence of new fruit varieties for distilleries.

In an interview with Világgazdaság, László Mihályi emphasized: although there will be apricot pálinka this year as well, price increases may become inevitable. Distilleries have so far been unable to enforce their cost increases, which is further aggravated by illegal zugpálinkas, which distort the market. The President of the Council urged more decisive official action in order to preserve fair competition.