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Thirsty Turks sip 60
million liters of raki each
year, mostly with meals.
Raki (rah-KUH) is
clear brandy made
from grapes and raisins, flavored with
pungent anise. Most
is quite potent (80- to 90-proof/40%
to
45% alcohol) and thus usually diluted
with water and sipped.
It's similar
to Greek ouzo and French pastis.
When mixed with
ice and/or water for drinking, it turns
milky white. Because of its color and
hefty alcoholic punch, Turks call it lion's
milk (aslan sütü).
If you like licorice and anise,
you may like raki. If you don't, for
sure you won't.
Until a few years ago, raki was made
only by Tekel, the former Turkish
government tobacco and spirits monopoly
which
produces the Yeni Raki, Tekirdag and Altindag brands.
In 2004 the commercial Elda company
distillery producing the premium Efe
Raki brand
opened, starting the trend to more
brands. Some raki factories are located
near Izmir to
take advantage of its abundant, high-quality
grapes, raisins and anise.
Elda has now elaborated its raki products
into several brands, including Sari
Zeybek, a premium "yellow"
raki made with choice Tefenni anise
and aged for six months in oak barrels
to give it a smooth taste and pale
yellow color. It's pretty expensive
at YTL35
for a 70 cl bottle. Another elaboration
is Sakiz Raki, made
with a hint of mastic gum.
It must also be mentioned that several
people died and others were sickened
in 2005 from drinking sahte
raki (fake, or bootleg,
raki) made by parties unknown of substances
mysterious. It's a good idea to stick
to the major brands such as Tekel and Efe,
and confirm that the seals on the bottles
are intact.
(There should be no problems in legitimate
restaurants.)
HOW TO DRINK RAKI
Here's how you drink it: a
clear, straight, narrow glass is filled
1/3 or 1/2
with raki,
then
diluted
with water and/or ice to suit the drinker's
taste. (Say Tamam!, tah-MAHM, "okay," when
the waiter has poured enough water
and/or ice.)
A traditional raki sofrasi ("raki
table") bears dozens of meze (MEH-zeh,
Turkish hot and cold hors d'oeuvres,
salads, cheeses, etc.) but the two
essentials are salty white sheeps'-milk
cheese (beyaz peynir) and
sweet yellow melon (kavun).
While
sipping raki and nibbling meze,
there's good conversation, much humor,
and many toasts to your companions'
health and prosperity. After you've
eaten far too much, the main course
of kebap or
fish arrives, to be followed by a dessert/sweet,
fruit and Turkish
coffee.
Raki is sold by the drink (kadeh),
in small 17-cl glass pitchers, in half-bottles (35
cl) and full
bottles (70 cl).
If you want just one drink,
ask for bir kadeh raki (BEER
kah-DEH rah-KUH).
If you're drinking lightly with
one or two friends, ask for bir
otuzbeslik raki (BEER
OH-tooz-BESH-leek, a 35 cl half-bottle).
If you really want to "milk
the lion" or you're with
lots of friends, order bir
sise raki (BEER SHEE-sheh
rah-KUH, a full bottle, sometimes
called a yetmislik, yeht-MEESH-leek,
a 70 cl bottle).
Serefinize! (sheh-REHF-ee-nee-ZEH,
"In your honor!") is the proper toast.
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