Rakı (, Turkish pronunciation: [ɾaˈkɯ] ) is an alcoholic beverage made of twice-distilled grape pomace and flavored with aniseed. It is a national drink of Turkey, and it is especially popular in the coastal regions. Among drinkers of alcoholic beverages, it is popular in Turkic countries and Caucasian countries as an apéritif. It is often served with seafood or meze. It is comparable to several other anise-flavored liqueurs such as pastis, ouzo, sambuca and arak. The alcoholic content of rakı must be at least 40% according to Turkish standard. The largest producer of raki is Diageo, which operates in Turkey through its subsidiary Mey İçki (acquired in 2011); Yeni Rakı is the largest brand. Rakı has been a registered geographical indication in Turkey since 2009, granting it legal protection as a spirit produced exclusively from Turkish-grown grapes and anise. In many East Mediterranean and Balkan countries, the term raki is widely used to describe similar distilled alcoholic beverages. This shared terminology dates back to the Ottoman Empire, where "raki" became a generic term for distilled spirits. During Ottoman rule, the word spread across the empire's territories. In many of these regions, the term raki or rakia is still used to describe grape-based pomace brandies or other spirits, often with regional variations in production methods and flavour profiles. For example, in Turkey, rakı is flavoured with anise and is distinctively served diluted with water, creating a milky-white appearance. Similarly, in the Balkans, rakija (or its linguistic variants such as ракия in Bulgarian, ракија in Serbian, and rakija in Croatian) is a general term for fruit-based brandies, with local variations like plum, pear, or apricot based liquors. In Crete, tsikoudia is also sometimes referred to informally as raki, particularly in the eastern parts of the island. This reflects the linguistic and cultural legacy of Ottoman influence in the region. Unlike the Turkish rakı, Cretan raki (tsikoudia) is not flavoured with anise and undergoes a single distillation, retaining the natural flavour of the grape pomace.
Etymology The term raki entered English from Turkish rakı. The Arabic word arak (Arabic: عرق [ʕaraq]), means "distilled", other variants being araka, araki, ariki. The Teleuts, who are a Turkic ethnic group living in Siberia, use the term arakı for wine and other alcoholic drinks. In Ancient Greek the grape was called ῥάξ (Greek pronunciation: [raks]). The literary historian Abdülbaki Gölpınarlı identified the earliest known use of the word "rakı" in Turkish literature in the divan poet Fuzuli's mesnevi Beng ü Bâde, completed between 1510 and 1514, suggesting that rakı has at least a 500-year documented history. In a Spanish manuscript written in 1567 by an anonymous author, later discovered in 1905 and published under the title Viaje de Turquía, rakı is mentioned under the name raqui. The narrator, who had been a prisoner of the Ottomans between 1552 and 1556, recounts drinking rakı for the first time during his escape on the island of Lemnos.
History Where or when raki was first produced is unknown. It is first mentioned by the Ottoman explorer Evliya Çelebi during his travels in 1630. In his Book of Travels he reports that ancient people produced their own raki in small towns. Until the last decades of the 19th century, the production of raki was done exclusively "at home", ie there was no mass industrial production. Colorless alcoholic beverages had long been consumed throughout the Mediterranean, known by various names: tsipouro, raki, arak, grappa. These are distilled from the by-products of wine, exploiting the vineyard as much as possible. In the Ottoman Empire, until the 19th century, meyhanes run by Rûm (Greeks) and Albanians would mainly serve wine along with meze, due to religious restrictions imposed by various sultans. During this period, rakı was produced by distillation of grape pomace (cibre) obtained during wine fermentation. When the amount of pomace was not sufficient, alcohol imported from Europe would be added. If aniseed was not added, it would take the name düz rakı ('straight rakı'), whereas rakı prepared with the addition of gum mastic was named sakız rakısı ('gum rakı') or mastikha (Greek: μαστίχη). Some people state that the alcoholic beverage of Raki was made in eastern Anatolia from figs and other fruits that tasted like grapes. This alternative recipe in raki and raki culture was made due to certain economic challenges. With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the modern-day Republic of Turkey, grape-based rakı began to be distilled by the state-owned spirits monopoly Tekel, with the first factory production taking place in 1944 in İzmir. With increasing sugar beet production, Tekel also began to distill the alcohol from molasses, and a new brand of raki made from sugar-beet alcohol was introduced under the name Yeni Rakı ('new rakı'). Molasses gave Yeni Rakı a distinctive bitter taste and helped increase the drink's popularity. Today, with increased competition from the private sector, and the privatization of Tekel in 2004, several new brands and types of raki have emerged, each with its own distinct composition and production method, although the overall qualities of the drink have generally been kept consistent. These include Efe Rakı, Çilingir Rakı, Mercan Rakı, Fasıl Rakı, Burgaz Rakı, Ata Rakı, and Anadolu Rakı.
Changing consumption trends According to a 2025 Ipsos study, whisky consumption in Turkey had risen by 155% since 2020, while rakı consumption grew by 31% in the same period. Despite this shift, rakı remains the most-consumed traditional spirit in the country. Beer remains the most popular alcoholic beverage overall, with annual consumption reaching 1.2 billion litres. The study noted that gin and tequila were also gaining popularity, particularly among women.
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