As I boy I use to play football and hide-and-seek in plum orchardswith the kids from the neighbourhood. In the evening when I would come home tired, sweaty and starving, I would sit at the table already set for dinner. Usually, the adults were already at the table and were lively discussingharvest from that season, the ripeness of plums and whose were the sweetest. I would be sitting, hypnotised, listening to the stories on making rakija. To me, it sounded like magic. Distilling rakija and socializing around the boilerare childhood memories that I continue to draw inspiration from to this day. There is something about that sharedapprehension from the inclement weather when the entire neighbourhood looks up to the sky.

Years have gone by since that day, but the smell of ripe fruit and the crackling sound of fire underneath the boiler bring back the same excitement I have felt as a boy. Those days, we had time to feel using allthe senses and also think, discuss and be together. I wanted to hold that feeling for as long as I could, that feeling of excitement, youth and passion. I came back to the nature that, as it seems, I have never even left, as it was within me all the time. Today, along with my associates, I carefully nurture young plum trees and in the same manner select the variety of fruit that give the best aroma. Just like then, I also look up to the sky and pray for the rich harvest. Nowadays,I am also making rakija with much love and effort, and as before, it brings us together, gathered around the boiler, whilst provoking lucid ideas, provoking senses. For me, rakija is not only a drink;itstands for the connection, warmth and inspiration. The nature has helped me to unite my passion from youth and warmth of home in the form of producing rakija from carefully selected fruit. Making rakija is an art that I would like to share, so thatwe can all find pleasure inthe sensuality, abundance of life and joy that this magic always creates.