Serbian Christmas Eve's Liquid Fellowship

Oops! Thought I'd wished everyone a Sretan Bozic over the Weekend, but it looks as if I forgot. Well, in penance, allow me to wish you a Stretna Nova Godina (Happy New Year! Which falls on the Gregorian calendar's January 13th, according to the Julian calendar used by many Orthodox Christian churches), and present you with a recipe for the tastiest of traditional Serbian christmas beverages: Vruca Rakija. Although sometimes referred to as Serbian Tea when presented to the uninitiated, the drink is, in fact, a strangely powerful blend of serbian plum brandy (sljivovica or "sljivo" for short), water and sugar. Vruca rakija actually means hot brandy. When the Badnje Vece crowd departs the church yard to get some Vruca Rakija, the local TV stations always say they're off "sharing fellowship". Call it what you want, but prepare it like this:

Sprinkle about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of white sugar into a medium sized sauce pan. Slowly heat the sugar with constant stirring until it melts, dissolves and darkens somewhat. You're looking for a warm caramelly brown, not a charred mess. It may be a race to get all of the sugar dissolved before the appropriate darkness level is reached. This is where careful heat control is important. Once the sugar has dissolved and darkened, pour about 2 cups of sljivovica into the pan. This stuff runs to 80+ proof, so it'll virtually explode whan it hits the molten sugar. Be careful not to set yourself on fire, or melt your skin from the bones. The sugar will puff up when the alcohol hits. Then, add about 2 cups of water and stir over medium heat until dissolved. You can reverse the steps and add water before alcohol, but it'll be tougher to dissolve the caramelized sugar. Either way, the end result is sweet, hot and alcoholic. Keep your serving size on the small side; the stuff is still around 35 proof. That's about the same proof as most schnaaps. More importantly, it's delicious! Be careful not to breath in the fumes when you go for a drink, or your likely to choke on the fumes and spill your cupful. Of course, after a cup or two, you'll be a bit unsteady anyway. It's amazing how quickly hot alcohol goes into the bloodstream!