Thirsty? Think again...

Moving to another country brings the joy of diversity, and sometimes, the merriment of cultural collisions or associations. Case in point: WhatsApp groups with names like EuRoPol (because, you know, Romanian-Polish unity under the EU banner 😂) or Magyar-RO-UK (self-explanatory, right?).

But the real fun starts at home, where my household is also a small melting pot of different backgrounds. 

Last night, someone went searching through the drinks cabinet, craving a Captain Morgan and ginger. And voila, a bottle of rum appeared!!! But wait, its contents leaned more towards Romanian schnapps than exotic delight. How that happened, we'll never know...

Suspicious, the thirsty soul messaged the Magyar-RO-UK group for "answers". Within seconds, a photo popped up: a classic Borsec bottle filled with none other than "țuică" or palinka. Then, as if by magic, my "better/worse half" brought to light our own little stash of Borsec bottles filled with "vișinată" (sour cherry schnapps).

Now, the pressing question: how did this tradition of disguising spirits in water bottles come to be? I mean, who among us, Eastern Europeans, hasn't mistakenly sipped on what was thought to be innocent H2O, only to end up tipsy? 🤣 This bottle, a timeless enigma, transcending generations and borders... 

Should I carry on the tradition ?