Raki

Ok, I know I promised a post about Muslims' tendency to protest against perceived insults, but I will save that rather depressing topic for another post. 'Tis the season, after all, and I think more festive posts are in order.

In case you are headed to Turkey or Istanbul for the holidays like me, you might want to learn more about an aspect of Turkish culture that does not get enough respect. I am talking about our national alcoholic beverage of choice, raki, and the raki culture.

First, for those who are entirely unfamiliar for Turkey, a few general tidbits: Turkey is predominantly Muslim, but produces large quantities of alcohol for domestic consumption. The alcoholic beverage sector used to be a state monopoly (with the exception of beer and wine) but this has changed in the last decade or so. Now private firms, foreign and domestic, are free to compete in this sector. Just to give you an idea of the size of the market, the domestic production of alcoholic beverages in the first 9 months of 2006 was 795.3 million litres. Most of this is beer: 743 million 83.2 thousand litres. However, the second on the list is not wine, but raki: 24 million 870.7 thousand litres. Wine comes third with about 20 million. Now consider that Turkey's population is about 70 million (including children and people who do not drink alcohol).

Anyway, leaving aside beer, raki is clearly the drink of choice for most Turks. What is raki you might ask? It is an anise flavored hard liquor distilled from grapes (45%). It is remarkably similar to the Greek ouzo. There are different varieties of raki, depending on whether it was distilled from dry grapes or fresh grapes and how it was barrelled and so on. However, if you are a newby, you probably won't be able to tell the difference. Most Turks still stick with what used to be the state brand: Yeni Raki, and that is what you will find even in the most remote corners of the country.

Raki has its own culture and drinking etiquette. First of all, it is not a stand alone drink, an aperatif or an after dinner drink. It should be consumed sitting down and not mixed with other drinks. Raki has its own table (raki masasi). Or, I should say, if there is raki, there should be a table, and on that table there should be little plates of food (meze) that accompany the raki.

The point of drinking raki is not getting drunk. The point rather is to get to a state of mild inebriation so that the conversation around the table will flow more smoothly and freely. Everything can be and should be discussed around a raki table: politics, religion, philosophy, literature, sports etc. If it is a successful evening, people will sing old melancholic songs at some point.

The way to drink raki is in tall skinny glass. You pour in the raki first (1/3), then dilute it with water (1/3), at which point it will turn cloudy, and add ice (1/3). Another tall skinny glass is filled only with water. Because the goal is not getting drunk but maintaining a state of mild tipsiness for the duration of the evening , which should ideally last many hours, you drink raki very slowly. There is no magic formula but you should be taking a sip about every 3-4 bites food and chasing your sips with water every now and then.

In the old days only men used to drink raki and it was the wives' duty to set up a proper raki table home at home complete with several mezes. Nowadays both men and women participate in this culture, at least in the Western part of the country. The restaurants that deliver raki tables are called meyhanes (similar to the Greek ouzeri). Istanbul has a very vibrant meyhane culture and offers a wide variety of choice. There are streets of meyhanes: most tourists are familiar with Kumkapi. Another one that is more frequented by Turks is Nevizade, which is a side street off of Istiklal. An excellent meyhane located in Nevizade is Boncuk, which specializes in Armenian mezes along with the more traditional Istanbul classics. Another one is Imroz, which has a Greek flavor.

If you are into eating and drinking, I recommend that you try to partake in this culture in Istanbul. But if you are going to do it, you should try to do it right. Eating at a meyhane is not about romance. It is about conversation. And while the food is usually excellent, it is not about the food either. The food is there to accompany the raki, which is the lubricant for conversation. It is pretty poor form to go to a meyhane and try to drink something else besides raki (The Greeks have retzina-pine gum flavored cheap white wine-which is the only thing that might be somewhat acceptable as a substitute, but that is not available in Turkey anyway). If you do not want to drink raki or alcohol, drink water. Others might disagree on this, but I think it is an insult to raki to drink something else at the raki table (Not that anybody will say anything to you-it is just a matter of etiquette). The mezes are in the middle of the table and are there to be shared. It is also poor form to go to a meyhane and order your own plate of food. And the meal is not to be rushed. It should last several hours at least. First: cold mezes, second: hot mezes, third: main course (if there is still room), fourth: desert/fruit, fifth: Turkish coffee. This is how it should be done.

Oh, a final note: if you've never tasted raki before, chances are you will hate it when you try it for the first time. However, if you follow my instructions and consume it the way it is supposed to be consumed, by the end of the evening, it will have grown on you. I guarantee it. Best of luck and Serefe!