Peppered Horilka, called Medova z Pertsem (Peppered Mead), Brand Nemiroff.

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 whisky, 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’). Horilka is usually distilled from grain, potatoes,^[1] honey, sugar beets etc. One type of horilka, called pertsivka (Ukrainian: перцівка), is horilka with chili peppers. Historically, outside of Ukraine pertsivka is generally referred to when people speak of horilka, although pertsivka itself is just one type of horilka.

It is believed that horilka was not as strong as today with about 20 percent (40 proof).^[1][2] However, today nearly all industrially produced horilka is 40% (80 proof).

Derivatives[link]

Ukrainian tradition has also produced various derivatives of horilka. Some of these are available as commercial products, but most are typically home-made. This includes various kinds of fruit infusion, nalyvka and spiced spotykach: malynivka made with raspberries, tertukha (strawberries), agrusivka (gooseberries), ternivka (blackthorn berries), kalynivka (snowball tree), shypshynnyk (rose hips), horobynivka (ashberries), zubrivka (bison grass), vyshnyak or vyshnivka from cherries, slyv”yanka (plums), morelivka (apricots), tsytrynivka (lemons), mokrukha (oranges and cloves), mochena (citrus rind), kontabas (blackcurrant buds). Horikhivka is flavoured with nuts. Horilka is also made with honey, mint, or even milk. In some cases whole fruits of red peppers (capsicum) are put into the bottle, turning horilka into a sort of bitters; it is then named horilka z pertsem, or pertsivka. (One should be mindful of the usage: horilka z pertsem refers to horilka bottled with hot chilli peppers, whereas pertsivka typically refers to horilka spiced with the essence of pepper. Horilka z pertsem always refers to a Ukrainian spirit. Pertsivka or Pertsovka may refer to Russian vodka.)

Most of these preparations are aged with fruit for several weeks or months, then strained or decanted. Some recipes call for the jars to be placed on the rooftop, for maximum bleaching by the sun. Many include the addition of home-made syrup for a strong liqueur, others yield very dry, clear spirit. Some involve the fermentation of fruit as well as addition of horilka. Preparations which are baked in an oven, in a pot sealed with bread dough, are called zapikanka, varenukha or palynka.

Traditions[link]

Horilka plays a role in traditional weddings in Ukraine and in eastern Slovakia and southern Poland.^[3]

And bring us a lot of horilka, but not of that fancy kind with raisins, or with any other such things — bring us horilka of the purest kind, give us that demon drink that makes us merry, playful and wild!

—Taras Bulba, by Nikolai Gogol^[1]

Etymology[link]

The word horilka is attested in 1562 (горилка) and 1678 (горѣлка). Dialectic variants are harilka, horilash, horilytsya, horilets’, horilukha, z·horivka, zorivka, orilka, as well as Western Ukrainian horivka, horychka.

The word comes from the same root as the verb hority, ‘to burn’, similarly to Belarusian harelka, south Russian gorelka, Czech kořalka, and Slovak goralka, goržolka. It is considered to have come about following the Polish example gorzałka, possibly as an abbreviation of a compound word like horile vyno (‘burning wine’; compare the older word horěloe vyno, горѣлое вино, attested in 1511) or horila(ya) voda (‘burning water’; compare early Czech palena voda → palenka or Hungarian/Transylvanian palinka). It may be an adaptation of the early Old High German der brannte Wein → Branntwein.^[4][5] Also compare English brandy, short for brandywine, from Dutch brandewijn, ‘burning wine’.

Pertsivka[link]

A pertsivka or horilka z pertsem (English: pepper flavoured horilka) is the most widely associated type of horilka outside of Ukraine. It is made with whole fruits of capsicum put into the bottle, turning horilka into a sort of bitters. Sometimes perstsivka can be made also using honey, which is then called pertsivka z medom (honey-pepper flavoured horilka). Nemiroff is a Ukrainian brand actively promoting pepper horilka worldwide through the heavy use of product placement in cinema^{[6][citation needed]}. The brand and company don't have long traditions but pertsivka production itself does.

Production of Horilka[link]

Horilkas are also often made with wheat, honey, mint, birch bud or even milk,.^[7] A self-distilled alcoholic beverage, moonshine, is called samohon (literally "self-run", "self-steered") and often associated with horilka.

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up horilka in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Horilka: Vodka of Ukraine—includes a gallery of labels
• Ukrainian Alcoholic Beverages

v t e Alcoholic beverages   History and production History of alcohol History of alcohol History of beer History of Champagne History of wine History of French wine History of Rioja wine History of Chianti Production Brewing Distilling Winemaking   Alcoholic beverages Fermented beverage Beer (types) Wine (types) Cider (category) Mead (category) Rice wine (category) Other fermented beverages Distilled beverage Brandy (category) Gin (category) Horilka (category) Liqueur (category) Rum (category) Tequila (category) Vodka (category) Whisky (category) Fortified wine (category) Madeira wine (category) Marsala wine Port wine Sherry (category) Vermouth (category)   Distilled beverages by ingredients Grain Barley Irish whiskey Japanese whisky Scotch whisky Maize Bourbon whiskey Corn whiskey Tennessee whiskey Rice Awamori Cheongju Rice baijiu Soju Rye Rye whiskey Sorghum Baijiu (Kaoliang) Multiple grains American whiskey Canadian whisky Fruit Apple Applejack Calvados Cashew apple Fenny Coconut Arrack Grape Arak Armagnac Brandy Cognac Pisco Plum Slivovitz Ţuică Pomace Chacha Grappa Marc Orujo Tsikoudia Tsipouro Zivania Various/other fruit Eau de vie Kirschwasser Nalewka Pálinka Rakia Schnaps Other Agave Mezcal Tequila Sugarcane/molasses Aguardiente Arak Cachaça Clairin Guaro Rum Seco Herrerano Tharra Various cereals and potato Akvavit Baijiu Horilka Poitín Shōchū Vodka   Liqueurs and infused distilled beverages by ingredients Almond Amaretto Crème de Noyaux Anise Absinthe Arak Ouzo Pastis Raki Sambuca Chocolate Chocolate liqueur Cinnamon Tentura Cloudberry Lakka Coconut Malibu Coffee Kahlua Tia Maria Egg Advocaat Hazelnut Frangelico Herbs Aquavit Bénédictine Brennivín Crème de menthe Metaxa Minttu Honey Bärenjäger Drambuie Glayva Krupnik Juniper Gin Jenever Orange Campari Curaçao Triple sec Peppers Pertsivka Star anise Sassolino Sugarcane/molasses Charanda Various/other fruit Crème de banane Crème de cassis Limoncello Schnapps Sloe gin Alcoholic beverages category Drinking establishment Drink Portal Beer Portal Beer WikiProject Spirits WikiProject Wine Portal Wine WikiProject

Andriy Danylko
Background information
Birth name	Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko
Also known as	Verka Serduchka
Born	(1973-10-02) 2 October 1973 (age 38)
Origin	Poltava, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
Genres	Comedy, Parody, Pop
Occupations	Comedian, Singer
Instruments	Singing
Years active	1998 – present
Labels	CD Land, MamaMusic
Website	http://www.serduchka.com

Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko (Ukrainian: Андрі́й Миха́йлович Дани́лко) (born 2 October 1973 in Poltava, Ukrainian SSR), better known as his drag character Verka Serduchka (Ukrainian: Вєрка Сердючка), is a Ukrainian comedian and pop and dance singer. In the role of Serduchka, he represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 and finished in second place. In his career Serduchka has sold over 600,000 records in Ukraine.

Biography[link]

Early career[link]

In 1990, Andriy Danylko started to create the character Verka Serduchka, a flamboyant middle-aged female railroad car steward from a rural family. At a humor contest in Poltava on 4 January 1991, he presented Verka Serduchka publicly for the first time. He invented the character's name by combining the randomly picked first name Verka and the last name of a former school classmate, Anya Serduk.^[1][2] Apart from pop and dance numbers, Danylko has also performed ambient musical compositions under his real name. His popularity, however, is firmly established on the stage personality of Verka Serduchka, and most of his performances are done under this stage name.

Following Verka Serduchka, Danylko created other characters, such as a militsioner, a soldier and a female ballet dancer. In such a fashion, the Danylko Theater was established, touring cities of Russia and Ukraine. In 2002, Danylko, along with his group, toured in the CIS and Baltic countries, showing the program "I am a Revolution" for the whole year. The next year, soon after the Danylko Theater's concert tour, "I Was Born for Love", Andriy Danylko received the title of Honored Artist of Ukraine.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade) he hosted a talk show called "SV-show" ("SV" is an abbreviation for Russian: Спальный Вагон, "Spalniy Vagon", which means sleeping car) on various Ukrainian television channels.^[3]

Eurovision Song Contest 2007[link]

Verka Serduchka with his ensemble in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

Verka Serduchka was chosen to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland, with the song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai",^[4] and the performance finished in second place. Ukraine had been guaranteed an appearance in the final because of the top-ten finish of the previous year's Ukrainian representative, Tina Karol, with her song "Show Me Your Love".

The participation of Andriy Danylko in Eurovision was not without controversy in Ukraine. One of the nationwide FM radio stations organized a protest action in February 2007 to express their disapproval with the selection of Serduchka to represent the country.^[5] Some Ukrainians and even members of the Ukrainian Parliament expressed their disapproval with Serduchka's participation in the contest, because they saw it as "grotesque and vulgar".^[6][7]

Serduchka's song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" was sung in 4 languages: German, English, Ukrainian, and Russian. The invented words "lasha tumbai" caused some controversy after the performance, because many people noted the phrase's similarity to "Russia Goodbye". In early publicity appearances, Serduchka claimed that "lasha tumbai" was an expression in the Mongolian language for "whipped cream". However, several Mongols on a talk show by Channel One (Russia), which was shown just before the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, stated that there is no phrase "lasha tumbai" in their language, and one of them pronounced the correct Mongolian phrase for "whipped cream".^[8] The Mongolian embassy in Moscow also said that "lasha tumbai" was total gibberish.^[9]

During the performance, Verka Serduchka wore clothes made by the famous company Dolce & Gabanna.^{[citation needed]}

The single for "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" reached #6 in the French charts and went on to be #28 on The Official UK Singles Chart on 20 May 2007. This was the first time a non-UK non-winning Eurovision entry had made UK charts since 1974.

Danylko later made a brief phone-in appearance on the BBC's The Graham Norton Show, in which his comments made no sense whatsoever. Another call was made, but with a translator in the audience. In this instance, Danylko told guest Andrew Lloyd Webber he was "rubbish". However, in an interview with Andrew Williams in the 60 Seconds column of metro.co.uk (30 July 2007), Danylko clarified his meaning:

AW: Why did you call Andrew Lloyd Webber ‘rubbish’ on The Graham Norton Show? AD: Someone interpreted Serduchka wrongly. I meant I watched "Cats: the Musical" on TV. It was boring. You should watch a musical on the stage. Don't watch "Cats" on TV.^[10]

In the same interview, he stated that "lasha tumbai" was a somewhat made-up phrase that sounds like the Mongolian phrase for "milkshake" and that many Russians nevertheless managed to interpret it as saying "Russia goodbye!".^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, a writer from British newspaper The Guardian described "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" as the "best song never to win Eurovision" before going on to describe Serduchka as "an oven-ready Christopher Biggins".^[11]

Personal life[link]

Danylko is reluctant about discussing his private life, but he has stated that he lived with a woman for 8 years, that it was a hard experience for him, and that after the breakup he became more creative again.^[12]

Eurovision 2011[link]

Serduchka had planned to participate in the Ukrainian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. He automatically qualified for the final,^[13] but withdrew his nomination in October 2010.^[14]

Political life[link]

Danylko announced in 2007 that he would front a new political party, "For Ours!", to compete in that year's Ukrainian parliamentary election, but he later abandoned the idea. A public opinion poll in July 2007 placed 'For Ours! Verka Serduchka' at 2% overall support.^[15][16]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Я рождена для любви (Ya rozhdena dlya lyubvi, I was born for love) (1998)
• Гоп-гоп (Hop-hop) (2002)
• Чита дрита (Chita drita) (2003)
• Ха-ра-шо (Kha-ra-sho - Good) (2003)
• Жениха хотела (Zhenikha khotela - I wanted a husband) (2004)
• После тебя (Posle tebya - After you) (2005) (released under the name Danylko: instrumental music)
• Новые песни Верки Сердючки (Novye pesni Verki Serdyuchki - The new songs of Verka Serduchka) (2006)
• Tralli-Valli (2006)
• Dancing Europe (2007)
• DoReMi DoReDo (2008)
• Alles Gut Mamba (2011)

Singles[link]

• Я не поняла (Ya ne ponyala, I didn't understand) (2003)
• Всё будет хорошо (Vsyo budet khorosho, Everything will be fine) (2003)
• Гоп гоп (Hop hop,^[17] Jump jump) (2003)
• Пирожок (Pyrozhok, Pie) (2003)
• Горилка (Horilka) (2003)
• Контролер (Kontroler, Ticket collector) (2003)
• Чита Дрита (Chyta-dryta) (2004)
• Попала На Любовь (Ya popala na lyubov, I Fell in Love) (2004)
• Тук тук тук (Tuk tuk tuk, Knock Knock Knock) (2004)
• Хорошо красавицам ('Tis swell to be a belle) (2006)
• Tralli-valli (2006)
• А я смеюсь (And I'm laughin') (2006)
• Dancing Lasha Tumbai (2007)
• Kiss please (2007)
• I am Eurovision Queen (2008)
• До-ре-ми (Do Re Mi) (2008)
• Essen (2008)
• Dolce & Gabbana (2010)

Dancing Lasha Tumbai Chart position[link]

Other songs[link]

• Переполох (Perepolokh) with Philip Kirkorov (2007)
• Горбачев (Gorbachev) (2008)

• Kafeshka (Café) with Philip Kirkorov
• Kerubino (As Andriy Danylko)
• Новогодняя (Novogodnyaya, (happy) new year). As Andriy Danylko, with Alla Pugacheva and various artists
• Danylko Tango (As Verka Serduchka & Andriy Danylko)
• Dolce & Gabbana (2009)
• I Love You (2010)

DVD[link]

• The Best. Clips of various years (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Verka Serduchka

• "Andriy Danylko's official website" (in English/Russian, it is coming soon as the site says). http://www.serduchka.com/. 
• "Biography" (in Ukrainian). KM Studio. http://www.kmstudio.com.ua/cheremshyna/serdiuchka.htm. 
• "Unofficial Verka Serducka's blog" (in Russian). http://serduchka.org/. 
• "The two faces of Verka Serduchka". Public Radio International. April 7, 2010. http://www.theworld.org/2010/04/the-two-faces-of-verka-serduchka/.