Arak is a traditional alcoholic beverage of
the Levant and
Eastern Mediterranean. It is distilled and consumed across a wide area in the Middle East, including in
Lebanon,
Syria,
Jordan,
Egypt,
Iraq,
Israel and
Palestine. Arak is a stronger
flavored liquor and is usually mixed in proportions of approximately one part arak to two parts water in a traditional Eastern Mediterranean water vessel called an
ibrik (Arabic: ''
), from Middle Persian or Parthian *ābrēz''. The mixture is then poured into ice-filled cups, usually small, but can also be consumed in regular sized cups. This dilution causes the clear liquor to turn a translucent milky-white color; 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 the
ouzo effect. Arak is often served with
meze, which may include dozens of small traditional dishes, as well as with grilled meat. It is also commonly served as an
apéritif. Largely made from the
Marawi and Obaideh
grape varieties, a center of production is the
Bekaa Valley, particularly the
Kefraya,
Ksara, Domaine des Tourelles, and
Massaya vineyards. Arak is distilled and consumed by Iraq's
Yazidi and
Christian minorities, although many members of these groups fled after
ISIL seized control of large portions of northern Iraq in 2014. Amid a rise in
Islamic conservatism, the
Iraqi parliament passed a ban on the importing, manufacturing, and sale of
alcoholic beverages in 2016, prompting protests from Iraqi non-Muslims and rights activists. The ban was
not enforced until it was
officially gazetted in 2023, triggering border crackdowns.
In Palestine Arak is locally produced by
Palestinian Christians. The
West Bank city of
Ramallah is a center of arak distillation. Imports of arak from Palestinian Territories to the U.S. increased after imports of Syrian arak were disrupted by the
Syrian civil war.
Iranian Armenians locally manufacture black-market arak in Iran, and some foreign brands are also smuggled in the country. The Persian Empire Distillery, established in 2006 by a
Shiraz-born
Persian Canadian entrepreneur, distills an arak brand, Arak Saggi, at its distillery in
Peterborough,
Ontario.
Similar drinks Similar aperitifs include the Turkish
rakı, the Greek
ouzo and
tsikoudia, the Italian
sambuca and
anisette, the Bulgarian and Macedonian
mastika, and the Spanish
anís. However, it is unrelated to the similarly named
arrack, a
sugarcane-based Indonesian liquor. == Preparation ==