Plum Eau de Vie

How is Plum Eau de Vie made?

Plum eau de vie starts with ripe plums that are fermented whole with their stones intact, which adds subtle almond notes from the pits during the process. After fermentation completes, the mash gets distilled in copper pot stills, typically twice, to concentrate the fruit's essence while maintaining its pure, clean character. The final spirit rests briefly before bottling at high proof, capturing the concentrated flavor of fresh plums without any aging or added sugars.

How do you drink Plum Eau de Vie?

Plum eau de vie is traditionally savored neat at room temperature in small glasses, allowing you to appreciate its pure, concentrated fruit flavors and aromatic intensity. While some enjoy it lightly chilled or as a digestif after meals, it's rarely served on the rocks since dilution can mute its delicate character. In cocktails, it works beautifully in elegant sours, adding depth to whiskey-based drinks, or paired with sparkling wine for sophisticated aperitifs that highlight the stone fruit notes.

How do I choose good Plum Eau de Vie?

Look for eau de vie made from specific plum varieties like Mirabelle, Quetsche, or Greengage rather than generic "plum" - these will offer distinct flavor profiles and show the distiller's attention to detail. For cocktails, choose a cleaner, more neutral plum eau de vie that won't overpower other ingredients, while for sipping neat, seek out bottles with more pronounced fruit character and complexity. The best producers will list the plum variety on the label and often include harvest year information, indicating they take their fruit sourcing seriously.

Nutritional Information

Typical Calorie Range per Ounce: 64-70 calories

Typical Carbohydrate Range per Ounce: 0-0.1 grams

Typical Sugar Range per Ounce: 0 grams

Typically Gluten Free: Yes

Plum eau de vie is a clean, distilled spirit made from fermented plums, which means it contains virtually no residual sugars or carbohydrates after the distillation process. The calories come almost entirely from the alcohol content itself. Since plums are naturally gluten-free and the distillation process removes gluten proteins, most plum eau de vie should be safe for those with gluten sensitivities. However, we always recommend checking the specific product label and contacting the manufacturer directly to confirm gluten-free status, especially if you have celiac disease or severe gluten sensitivity.

Scrolled this far? Your reward? Plum Eau de Vie Trivia!

1. The legendary plum eau de vie called Slivovitz requires exactly 7 kilograms of fresh plums to produce just one single bottle. That's roughly 140 individual plums per bottle, making it one of the most fruit-intensive spirits on the planet. When you sip that crystal-clear liquid, you're literally tasting an entire orchard's worth of concentrated summer sunshine.
2. Authentic plum eau de vie gets its signature flavor not from the flesh of the plum, but primarily from the crushed pits inside the fruit. These pits contain benzaldehyde compounds that create those distinctive almond-cherry notes. Master distillers carefully control pit-to-flesh ratios like alchemists, knowing that too many pits create bitterness while too few leave the spirit flat and one-dimensional.
3. The clear appearance of plum eau de vie isn't natural – it's actually the result of a fascinating process called "rectification." The original distillate comes off the still with a pale golden hue from the fruit tannins. Distillers then filter it through activated charcoal multiple times, stripping away color while preserving the essential fruit oils. This creates that deceptively innocent crystal appearance that masks serious 80-proof firepower.
4. Traditional European plum eau de vie makers bury their fermentation vessels underground for weeks during the process. This ancient technique keeps temperatures stable and allows wild yeasts from the soil to contribute complex flavors that commercial yeasts simply can't replicate. Some Romanian distilleries have been using the same buried clay pots for over 200 years, creating what locals call "terroir in a bottle."
5. The timing for plum eau de vie production is absurdly specific – fruit must be harvested within a 72-hour window when sugar content peaks but before natural fermentation begins. Miss this window by even a day, and the entire batch is ruined. This is why authentic plum brandies often cost $80-150 per bottle – you're paying for the distiller's ability to predict Mother Nature with scientific precision.