Raki offically is a Turkish unsweetened, anise-flavored hard alcoholic drink that is popular in Turkey, Middle East and in the Balkan countries as an apéritif drink.
Raki is trending topic these days.
We, as Bananafish Ltd. Have also some investments on raki.
First of all, we’re proudly running Buyukkeyif.com.
Buyukkeyif.com, is one of the “strangest” web sites of Turkey as a meeting and content center for raki drinkers. It is mentioned as the most succesful niche community site in Turkish language sites. Also site have more than 10K articles about Raki.
We’re also preparing more than 100 content based web sites, some books about Raki in English, Turkish, German and Spanish. And some social media projects.
Raki for beginners
Raki is often served with seafood or Turkish meze. It is similar to several other alcoholic beverages available around the Mediterranean, Albanian regions and the Middle East, e.g. pastis, ouzo, sambuca, arak, and aguardiente.
Raki is traditionally produced by twice distilling grape pomace (or grape pomace that has been mixed with ethanol) in traditional copper alembics of 5000 liters, and flavoring it with aniseed.
The term raki entered English from Turkish raki. The word raki is derived from the Arabic عرق [ʕaraq], other variants being araka, araki, ariki. Araq means perspiration in Arabic, which is believed to metaphorically refer to condensation, which likely refers to the condensation that forms outside of the chilled glass, or the drop-by-drop manner in which raki is distilled that is reminiscent of sweating, or possibly the phenomenon of unexpected sweating observed in individuals engaging in excessive raki consumption.
Standard raki is a grape product, though it may be produced from figs as well. Raki produced from figs, particularly popular in the southern provinces of Turkey, is called incir boğması, incir rakisi (“fig raki”), or in Arabic, tini. Tekel ceased producing fig raki in 1947.
There are two methods of Turkish raki production. One method uses raisins and other grapes. Yeni Raki is produced from raisins and Tekirdağ Rakisi is produced from grapes. Fresh grape raki is like ouzo but has a higher alcohol content.
Suma raki, i.e. distilled Raki prior to the addition of aniseed, is generally produced from raisins but raki factories around established wine-producing areas like Tekirdağ, Nevşehir, and İzmir may also use fresh grapes for higher quality. Recently, yaş üzüm rakisi (“fresh-grape raki”) has become more popular in Turkey.
The best-known and popular brands of raki, however, remain Yeni Raki, originally produced by Tekel, which transferred production rights to Mey Alkol upon the 2004 privatization of Tekel, and Tekirdağ Rakisi from the region of Tekirdağ, which is famous for its characteristic flavor, believed to be due to the artesian waters of Çorlu used in its production. Yeni Raki has an alcohol content of 45% and 1.5 grams of anise per liter; Tekirdağ Rakisi is 45% ABV and has 1.7 grams of anise per liter. There are also two top-quality brands called Kulüp Rakisi and Altınbaş, with 50% alcohol.
Dip rakisi (“bottom raki”) is the raki that remains in the bottom of the tanks during production. Bottom raki is thought to best capture the dense aroma and flavor of the spirit, and is also called özel raki (“special raki”). It is not generally available commercially; instead, raki factories reserve it as a prestigious gift for large clients.