NEWS AND MORE's video: Slovaks rush to make fruit brandy after distilleries re-open

Slovaks rush to make fruit brandy after distilleries re-open With large containers full of fruit mash on trailers and empty canisters in hand, Slovaks flocked to distilleries on Friday (January 29) to get their hands on freshly-made fruit brandy after coronavirus restrictions limiting alcohol production eased. The curbs, which forced Slovak distilleries to close, were announced on December 28 and lasted until January 21. Since then, the demand for distillation has remained high in Koseca, a village located 150 kilometres (93 miles) northeast from Bratislava, where people wait for months to turn their harvest into the traditional fruit drink. Some are, however, luckier than others in securing their spot. While Jozef Mahdar was taking the first batch of his apple brandy home, 71-year-old Stefan Vajdis was told to return in April. He said the long waiting time might make his fruit overly fermented and thus unusable, adding that the restrictions might have "stolen" some alcohol from him. But fruit growers were not the only ones impacted by the forced closures. Distillery owner and chairman of the Slovak Association of Distilleries Viktor Mikuska said he was counting his losses too. "We will miss those sales that's for sure. Because in 22 days, that would be a nice amount," he said while checking on the distillation process. Mikuska's association lobbied extensively for the re-opening, sending appeals and reviews to the government to allow the exemption in rules citing safety and hygiene measures already in place in the distilleries. Slovakia, where small alcohol production business dates back over one hundred years, has registered over 300 distilleries with three to four new facilities opening each year to process plums, apples, pears and apricots into fruit brandy. (Production: Radovan Stoklasa, Karolina Bohacova)