The Spirit World

Raki, the Turkish national drink has a interesting and intriguing history. A distilled spirit it is also known as “Lion’s Milk” because when mixed with water it turns a milky white. It is distilled from various fruits but was originally made from grapes. At one point a shortage of grapes resulted in versions made from other fruits, most commonly figs or plums. Both versions still exist today. No matter what the base fruit, the addition of anise seed is what gives this liquor it’s distinctive flavor.

Raki also goes by various names such as Araka, Araki, Ariki and Rakisi or the name might tell you what the base ingredient is. For instance, D?i or Hay Raki means that the raki was made with grapes. Sakız rakısı or mastika is Raki made from gum mastic and Yeni Rakı is a new version made with some sugar beet alcohol.

There is much speculation about the name, some say it’s called Raki because Iraq was the first country to distill this spirit, others say that it takes its name from the raziki grape, or some speculate that the name comes from “araki” which, in Arabic, means “that which makes one sweat”. This could be in reference to the fact that drinking too much causes you to sweat or that during the distillation process it drops like sweat! And finally, some say it comes from the Arabic word for juice. While research could not confirm this connection I found an interesting discussion thread on the topic. No one knows for sure so so choose the version that you like best!

I find it interesting that so many countries have anise flavored liquors of one sort or another. Sal just told us about Spain’s Patxaram, back in January Rosanne brought us information on Greece’s Ouzo, we’ve posted several times on Absinthe, and we have yet to talk about Sambuca from Italy or the Finnish licorice vodka which is made by dissolving candy in vodka.

I took my research to the Zig Zag Café last night to sample Raki for myself and to get Murray’s (one of my favorite bartenders) take on the whole thing. Another customer, Bob, who seemed to know his way around a liquor cabinet also joined in the speculation about the propensity of anise-flavored drinks. We had no hard and fast answers but Murray thought it might be two things: anise flavor is complementary to the flavors found in Mediterranean cuisine, which is where most of these liquors are found; and it might have to do with the availability of anise in the region. Bob had also suggested the availability angle. While availability is a good guess, I also found reference that the production of raki has actually fueled anise cultivation - but maybe it’s a chicken/egg sort of puzzle.Upon further reflection I think it might be due to some of anise’s medicinal properties of which there are many, but it is often used to settle the stomach and, as such, would be considered a good digestif. Or perhaps it’s more basic than that, one reference mentioned that it was one of the herbs that could avert the Evil Eye!

Murray poured me a shot of Tekirdağ Rakisi, one of the most well known brands. It is said to have a very distinctive flavor because of artesian water from Corlu used in it’s production. I tried it straight, although it would have been more common to dilute it with water. As you can imagine, it is very similar to other anise flavored spirits. It was very sweet with a little heat in the finish. It tasted more like black licorice than anise to me. Almost like a black licorice jelly bean.

Raki is generally taken straight; mixed with water; or taken with a side of water or, for the serious drinker, Şalgam which is a juice of purple carrot pickles, heavily salted, spiced and flavored with aromatic turnip (celem) and fermented in barrels. Yikes - and never mind that! Most commonly Raki is consumed along with meze, Turkey’s version of tapas, especially white cheese. Now that sounds much more palatable than Şalgam!