This was yet another lucky find from one of my local liquor stores. Aside from its relatively modest price (about $25 for a 750 mL bottle), I was tempted when I saw it had one of my favorite flavorings, anise. Plus, I was interested when I saw it was made in Lebanon. I haven't been able to report on a Lebanese edible or drinkable since my post on Lebanese soft drinks way back on August 15, 2015.
As I learned, arak is the name for the type of liquor itself. It's a traditional drink of the people of Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and, of course, Lebanon. One source said "arak" is Arabic for "perspiration." Although I wasn't able to confirm this from other online sources, so I'm a little skeptical. Especially since naming a drink after smelly sweat seems unlikely. (If any Arabic-speaking readers can weigh in and settle this, I'd be grateful.) The name gets even more confusing. An alcoholic drink made in Southeast Asia is called "arrack," and in places like Armenia, Iraq, and Georgia (the country) "arak" or "aragh" can be a generic term for a completely distinct and different liquor, vodka. Anyway, arak is made by first crushing and fermenting grapes, in a first distillation. Then, aniseeds are added, and the resulting mixture is distilled a second time. Once this is done, the liquor is quite strong. My sample was 50% alcohol (or 100 proof), and I think this is average for the drink. Perhaps because of this potency, arak is usually not consumed straight. Instead, it's first mixed with water, most often as one part arak, two parts water. Then ice is added. In this order, too--if ice is added before the water an unappetizing layer is formed atop the drink. This can recur if the same glass is used more than once, so typically a fresh glass is used for each separate round. The water causes the liquor to turn whitish, which is called louching. Which rang a bell with me. Another anise-flavored liquor I've had, absinthe (see my post on October 18, 2015) also is usually mixed with water, and goes through this transformation, and is also called a louche. It turns out that most drinks with anise in them do this same thing.
As has happened before, I had little luck discovering much of anything about the actual maker of the drink I had, which is the Arak Razzouk Distillery. There's no official website, and what little info there was came courtesy of the U.S. distributer, Evaton Inc., which is the American branch of the overall distribution company Sogrape Vinhos. About all I could learn was that Arak Razzouk Distilling started in 1918, and was reported to be the first commercial producer of arak. And it's made in Jemmeizeh (also spelled Gemeiseh), a neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon. Evaton was founded in 2000. And Sogrape was born in 1942, founded by Fernando van Zeller Guedes. Sogrape's alternate wares are mostly wines, from Spain, Portugal, France, New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile. This company exports to over 120 countries around the world. Oh, and after Arak Razzouk is distilled for the 2nd time, with the anise, it's aged in earthenware jugs for at least 6 months.
Arak Razzouk: It had a clear color, and a slight anise odor. It was somewhat similar to aguardiente, only much better. It was rich, bold, and spicy. It tasted boozy, but in a good way. Really good licorice-y bite. It kind of numbs your lips as you drink it, which again is rather cool. I only had it as a shot--I didn't learn about the traditional way of mixing it with water and ice until later. And now that I know, I don't think I'm going to mix it, since I enjoy it the way it is. All in all I loved this--it's one of my favorite liquors ever. I highly recommend it to folks who like anise-flavored drinks. Top notch. I already have bought more bottles, and plan to do so in the future.
I realize that readers may be getting sick of reading posts about anise-flavored liquors, since I already did absinthe, and Colombia's aguardiente on January 9th, 2021. Well, best get used to it. As I threatened earlier, a post about another anise liquor, Greece's ouzo, is coming, as well as one about Italy's Sambuca. And if I locate bottles of mastika (which is the Macedonian and Bulgarian anise liquor), or raki (the Armenian/Turkish take on it), or anis del mono (Spain), or xtabentun (Mexico) I'll talk about them as well.
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