Blogmocracy Netizens, it’s our Friday Night drinking thread. Tonight there is a twist, I am not drinking! I posted this to continue our tradition here. Tonight my feature liquor is Arak, a Middle eastern drink that originated in Lebanon. I am familiar with this as on my Dominican side, I have Lebanese roots. My Grandmother although born in DR, her parents were from Lebanon. So I have been exposed to Arak since youth. The Greeks calls it Ouzo and the Turks call it Raki. It has to be mixed 2/3 Water, 1/3 Irak and then wine. Below is a description of the drink.
Arak is usually not drunk straight, but is mixed in approximately 1/3 arak to 2/3 water, and ice is then added. This dilution causes the clear liquor to turn an translucent milky-white colour; this is because anethole, the essential oil of anise, is soluble in alcohol but not in water. This results in an emulsion, whose fine droplets scatter the light and turn the liquid translucent, a phenomenon known as louching. Arak is also commonly mixed with teas and juices. Drinkers may also take arak with a chaser on the side. Arak is usually served with mezza, which could include dozens of small dishes, which many arak drinkers prefer as accompaniment rather than main courses. When the main course of the meal is served, it may hardly be touched, in favour of these smaller dishes. It is also well appreciated with barbecues, along with garlic sauce.
Tradition requires that water is added before ice. If ice is added directly, it results in the formation of an aesthetically unpleasant skin on the surface of the drink, as the ice causes the fat to solidify out of the arak. If water is added first, the ethanol causes the fat to emulsify, leading to the characteristic milky colour. For the same reason some drinkers prefer not to reuse an arak-filled glass. In restaurants, when a bottle of arak is ordered, the waiter will usually bring a number of glasses along with it for this reason, whilst at home with regular drinkers it’s deemed unnecessary.
The best company for Arak is LAC Products, a Lebanese Alcohol company that has a wide variety of Arak, Beer, Wine and other spirits.
Below is a Tribute to Lebanese Women!
Here is also a tribute to Lebanon.
Enjoy your evening I will be on around Midnight.
