Contents
I love to travel, and on every trip, apart from the traditional sightseeing, I make sure to make a list of things to taste. I believe that it is food and drinks that convey the national spirit of the country and allow you to plunge into its history.
Life hack – from any country you can bring great gifts to relatives and friends in the form of bottles of local alcohol and an obligatory story on how to drink it correctly. For Turkey, this is raki.
From the review below, you will learn how to drink raki, how to set off the taste of this drink, what dishes to use when tasting so that even a Turk will tell you – this is “Turkish style”.
This is the story of my subscriber Alena, a lover of Turkish TV series.
How I got the idea to try Turkish alcohol
The trip to Istanbul was planned for a long time, so I was busy planning routes, as well as making lists of what to try and what to bring.
If there are no questions at all with food, and you need to worry more about avoiding excess luggage during the flight back, then you need to read more about alcohol, because Turkey is a Muslim country.
Given this, I want to know even more about how things are with alcohol in Istanbul. Do the locals drink something stronger than ayran, and if they do, where can tourists try it.
Cancers – why
The national drink of Turkey is raki. Rakı is an aniseed vodka made by distilling raw grapes with the addition of anise seeds, which gives a unique taste and aroma.
The strength of the raki ranges from 40 to 50% depending on the manufacturer, and it is aged for a minimum of one month in oak barrels before bottling for sale.
Not exactly a woman’s drink, but the desire to try it arose precisely because of a woman’s hobby – watching Turkish TV shows.
All the main male characters in each series, after a quarrel with their heroine or when “insoluble” problems appeared, went to a simple cafe, where they necessarily drank raki from tall glasses, while listening to sad songs and having sincere conversations.
Well, how can you not feel like the heroine of the series over a glass of Turkish vodka? And so I cheerfully monitor the Internet and Turkish bloggers in search of ideal recommendations on how to drink it correctly.
“Turkish style” in the use of raki
The use of raki is not just a “tip a glass”, it is a real ritual. There are two traditional uses:
- We drink the drink in its pure form – at the same time, cold water is necessarily served separately, with which the undiluted crayfish is washed down. You can not pour pure crayfish into a glass with ice. It will begin to crystallize and may lose its properties.
- A more popular way to consume it is to dilute crayfish with chilled water in the glass itself. The drink is mixed in the ratio of 3 servings of water to 1 serving of alcohol. At the same time, the cocktail becomes milky white before your eyes and acquires a pronounced anise flavor. Raki is served in traditional Turkish tall glasses.
We chose the second method for tasting. But in addition to the method of consumption, it was necessary to take into account the food that is best for eating crayfish. As we have traditional sets for vodka: “lard + pickles + black bread”, so certain snacks are typical for its Turkish version.
August, evening, outdoor cafe, and an order in not the best English from the waiter – crayfish, water, melon, Ezine Turkish cheese, Ezme adjika – these are snacks, and for hot ones – fish.
Do you want to know what statement the waiter ended our order in the same broken English? “Turkish style”, an approving nod of the head and a hospitable smile – it’s nice to know that we will taste the national drink like real Turks.
Raki diluted with water in traditional glasses on our table.
What is the result of tasting raki
“Lion’s milk”, as crayfish is also called, in a diluted form has a sweetish taste with a pronounced anise aroma. Of all the snacks, I liked the melon the most with this drink.
It perfectly sets off the strength and “anise” of the drink. Drinking raki is quite easy, even before the arrival of hot dishes, our glasses were empty.
Do not forget that raki is strong alcohol, and even diluted it can be tricky. To successfully return to the hotel, calculate your rate based on how much alcohol with a similar strength you drink without consequences (vodka, cognac, whiskey, etc.).
Also in the recommendations for what else you can eat alcohol, local bloggers advise obligatory mezes – these are a variety of snacks in small bowls.
Olives, hummus, stuffed peppers, yogurt, walnuts – all this also goes well with raki and allows you to fully reveal the taste of this drink.
These small bowls with a wide variety of snacks for a glass of raki are a great opportunity to get acquainted with gastronomic tourism in Istanbul.
Conclusion. If you find yourself in Turkey, be sure to try the national drink of this country – raki. And to make the tasting as entourage as possible, order crayfish in Turkish cafes with traditional snacks. Melon and cheese – personal recommendations.
Tasting the national drink of which country was most memorable for you?