Rakı, pronounced rah-kuh, is a Turkish anise-flavored liqueur that is similar to several kinds of alcoholic beverages available in Mediterranean and parts of Balkans.
It can be considered similar (in various degrees though) to pastis, sambuca, arak, ouzo, tsikoudia, tsipouro, rakia, rakija.
Although Rakı is basicly an anise-flavored liqueur, it can also refer to a hard liquor as strong as vodka but made from fruit that is popular throughout the Balkans, which may not be anise-flavored.
In Turkey where rakı is the unofficial national drink and companion to meze, it is generally drunk mixed with an equal part of water. When the water is added the mixture turns a whitish colour, which is where the drink gets its alternative name Lion's Milk from. In addition to mixing rakı with water in its own glass, it is customary to drink rakı with a separate but complementary beverage. For the casual rakı drinker, a glass of cold water is suitable. For the serious connoisseur of rakı with kebab, a glass of turnip juice stands as the best accompaniment to Lion's Milk. The standard rakı is a grape product, though it may also be produced from various fruits, especially fig. The most well known brands are Yeni Rakı and Tekirdag Rakısı from the region of Tekirdag, which is famous for its superior flavour. While Yeni Rakı has an alcohol content of 45 percent and 1.5 grams of anise per liter, Tekirdag Rakısı has 0.2 grams more anise in it. Additionally, Tekirdag Rakısı is unique, since it is made from fresh raisins and contains 100 percent raisin suma.
In Albania raki is an apéritif and is usually drunk in very small amounts at social gatherings.
In the former Yugoslav countries, the name rakija is applied not to anise-flavoured liquors, but to various distillates of fermented fruit. There are many kinds of rakija, depending on the fruit they are produced from - the slivovitz (šljivovica) being the most famous and produced from the plum. Other kinds include: apricot (kajsijevača - kayseeyewatcha), Williams pear (vilijamovka - williemovka), grapes (loza, lozovača - lozowatcha), quince (dunja), etc.
Rakiya is considered to be the national drink in Bulgaria, where it is usually made from grapes, but also from plum, apricot, pear, etc. It is generally served with cucumbers-and-tomatoes salad.
See also
External links
