TURKISH RAKI  (lion's milk)

"Rakı" is a very popular alcoholic drink in Turkey, made of raisin or grape spirit, redistilled with aniseed.  It's got the color of water, and it turns white as water or ice is added...That's why it is called the Lion's Milk.. The word "rakı" is believed to derive from "razaki", the variety of grape originally used to make rakı. The alchohol content of rakı is either 45 or 50 degrees.  After the liquor has been diluted, it is left to mature for 1 to 3 months in oak casks, before being filtered and bottled. "Rakı" is served cold in narrow cylindrical glasses. İt may be mixed with water or may be accompanied by soda water. İt goes particularly well with hors d'oeuvres, among which the simplest and most popular are white cheese and melon. However, it may also be taken as an aperitif. The drink made in Anatolia and known as Turkish raki has a history going back 300 years. The art of distillation which started in the Arab world and spread to the neighboring countries was implemented when people thought of making use of the sugar in the residue of wine processing. With the addition of aniseed, raki took on its Turkish characteristic.  The famous Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi listed the artisans of Istanbul in the first volume of his book on his voyages which he wrote in 1630. Among the artisans he also mentioned the arakmakers. While writing that arak was made from all kinds of plants, he also mentioned the word raki and said that drinking even one drop of this intoxicating drink was sinful. It is known that at that time in Istanbul 300 people in 100 workshop were occupied in the production and sale of this drink. Evliya Çelebi spoke of tavern-keepers as "accursed, ill omened, blame worthy" and said there were taverns all over Istanbul but especially in Samatya, Kumkapi, Balikpazari, Unkapani, Fener, Balat and the two shores of the Bosphorous and added "Galata means Taverns". Evliya Çelebi recorded the small wine shops and the kinds of wine they sold and also mentioned the taverns that sold raki, all kinds of raki, like raki wine, banana raki, mustard raki, linden raki, cinnomon raki, clove raki, pomegranate raki, hay raki aniseed raki.         Istanbul used to have many tiny taverns but nowadays if you want to drink raki and eat dishes that go well with it the best places are Kumkapi, the Bosporous and the flower market in Galatasaray. The favorite mezes of raki drinkers, roasted chickpeas and freshly salted almonds, can be found in almost all taverns.  Raki can be drank straight or spring water half and half; but it is always drank cold (8-10¡) Smooth and cylindrical glass used in drinking raki is ideal for enjoying magical whitening in the mixture of raki and water. Raki, can be taken as aperitif, but it is recommended to drink raki, in line with Turkish drinking tradition, together with original cold and hot snack and to fill cooled glass with raki by 1/3 and water by 2/3. While sipping this tasteful product, you will find in grape and anis flavour the traces of Anatolian Culture.