What is Raki?

Raki is a distinctly Turkish spirit made usually from distilled grape or raisin pomace and aniseed. This means it is very similar to other liquorice flavoured spirits like Ouzo, Pastis, Arak and Sambuca, although with a few differences that make it the national drink of Turkey.

The grape/raisin spirit is known as suma, and is not rectified to maintain its flavour and shape the final product. The suma is then mixed with a rectified spirit, diluted with water that has been redistilled with aniseed and sits at about 80% ABV. It is then diluted to bring this down and rested for a time to help the flavours marry together.

Recent experimentation has been made to diversify the drink further, with producers using fresher grapes to increase the quality, which is a current growing trend. In the southern provinces of Turkey, you'll also find that Raki is produced from figs rather than grapes making an interesting distinction.

Still, you have to be careful with checking you pick up a Turkish Raki so you aren't surprised by the flavours. During the Ottoman Empire, Raki was used loosely as a catch-all term to describe spirits and brandies, despite regional variations, which has passed down to modern day Raki's across the Ottoman influenced world. So, if you pick up a Raki from the Balkans, you'll find that it is in fact a fruit brandy like a French Eau de Vie. Perhaps more confusingly due to its proximity to Turkey, Crete also has a Raki, although the Greeks prefer to call it Tsikoudia, which is a grape brandy without any aniseed flavouring.