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Turkish raki

Turkish Raki, the Lion’s Milk!

In Turkey, alcohol is officially legal from the age of 18 for sale and consumption.* Lion’s milk (aslan sütü): Nickname given by the people to Turkish Raki.

A law was passed in 2013: the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited from 10 p.m. in places such as petrol stations, grocery stores and snacks. Only restaurants with table service have retained this right.

Raki is a rather strong traditional Turkish alcohol – 45°C.

Raki is an alcoholic drink that has been drunk since the 11th century.It is drunk as well by men and women. There is no sexism, we all have the same throat!

There are 40 different brands of raki!Grape leaf, humus, tur salad, sardines, cheese, olives, eggplant puree. Drink made from grapes, flavoured with anise, not sweet.

Restaurants specializing in rakı are open very late in the evening, some even overnight. You can taste mezzes (small hot or cold starters of all kinds) … They are often presented in small containers. Everyone takes what they want on their plate, you can eat them with good flatbread (pide), toast or even lavaş bread (crust of bread swollen at will, sprinkled with sesame, which can be covered with garlic butter).

Turkish national alcohol – Raki
Turkish national alcohol – Raki

Raki is drunk in Turkey in 5 different ways: always served in a tall cylindrical narrow glass.

You can drink pure raki without anything

You can add water to it.

You can drink it only with ice cubes, without water.

Or you can drink the Raki also in the three previous ways, with an extra glass of water next to it and alternating a sip of rakiand a sip of water. You can also alternate with a glass of spicy beet juice (salgam).

Raki is being consumed without moderation by the Turks, especially in the evening. It is a very popular drink with family friends.

BE AWARE! you must choose to drink or to drive, alcohol is always to be consumed in moderation

« Cheers » in Turkish means “To your honour”. Little anecdote: one day a Turkish guide told me: « we are so proud, that for the Turks honour is more important than health » ?

Something to think about!

You can click Maras dondurma, the Turkish ice cream.