page_title: Rakı
section_title: Serving and drinking
hierarchical_section_title: Rakı / Serving and drinking
caption_attribution_description: English: Alcoholic drink rakı Türkçe: Rakı. Diyarbakır, Türkiye.
context_page_description: Raki or rakı is a sweetened, often anise-flavoured, alcoholic drink that is popular in Albania, Turkic countries, Turkey, the Greek Islands and in the Balkan countries as an apéritif. It is often served with seafood or meze. It is comparable to several other alcoholic beverages available around the Mediterranean and the Middle East, e.g. pastis, ouzo, sambuca, arak and aguardiente.
  In Crete tsikoudia is a pomace brandy that is sometimes called rakı but made from grapes. It is used to make rakomelo, which is flavored with honey and cinnamon. Rakomelo is served warm during winter months.
context_section_description: In Turkey, rakı is the  national drink and is traditionally consumed with chilled water on the side or partly mixed with chilled water, according to personal preference. Rakı is rarely consumed without the addition of water. Ice cubes are often added. Dilution with water causes rakı to turn a milky-white colour, similar to the louche of absinthe. This phenomenon has resulted in the drink being popularly referred to aslan sütü ('lion's milk'). Since aslan ('lion') is a Turkish colloquial metaphor for a strong, courageous man, this gives the term a meaning close to 'the milk for the strong'.
  Rakı is commonly consumed alongside meze, a selection of hot and cold appetizers, as well as at a rakı sofrası ('rakı table'), either before a full dinner or instead of it. It is especially popular with seafood, together with fresh arugula, beyaz peynir and melon. It is an equally popular complement to various red meat dishes like kebabs, where it is sometimes served with a glass of şalgam.
  The founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, was very fond of rakı, and his late-night rakı sofrası sessions were his favorite place to debate issues with his closest friends and advisors.
caption: Toasting with rakı, in typical rakı glasses
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