Both are anise, or licorice, flavored liqueurs. Both are delicacies of the eastern Mediterranean. And both are most often served with white cheeses and other cold dishes, called "mezes", like tomatoes, fava beans, roasted chick peas, salted almonds, mackerel and other seafoods.
Past flavor and custom, though, they are not the same.
Raki is a Turkish staple rooted in centuries past, but popular for some 300 years! Originally called arak, it is known to treat every ailment from toothache to depression to appendicitis and anxiety. It is flavored with anise but it much stronger (they say it can reach up to 90 % alcohol!). So, the mere concentration of spirit seems to strip the aromatic appeal you'd expect from anise, and instead, Raki goes down more like gasoline.
I tried it on the island of Crete (a Greek island, yes, but on the far eastern side, close to the Turkish territory) but you can find it throughout the Balkan and larger eastern Mediterranean region, all hours of the day and night. We tried it at 9 in the morning!
It is made from the "tailings" of wine production. The residual skin and pulp is boiled up to produce a steam, that, when condensed, becomes this revered apertif.
Ouzo, on the other hand, is Greek! It is the descendent of Raki, and is related to other European anise drinks, like sambucca for the Italians or pastis for the French. Ouzo, though, is acknowledged to be exclusively of Greek origin with deep roots going back to Hippocrates' medical work. In modern times, ouzo is a certified as an exclusive Greek product for marketing purposes, and has become the quintessential Greek tradition!
In the Greek isles, ouzo is typically taken an hour before sunset, served in a skinny tall glass, alongside a glass of water. When you mix the two, the anise seed in the drink turns it a milky white. Its licorice scent, lighter alcohol (35-45%), and cheap price, make it a legendary Greek favorite.
Want to taste the favorite Ouzo? Visit the Aegean island of Lesvos!
5 comments:
Turkish here.
Thank you for your precious insights.
I think you missed a point while you were mentioning about the Turkish Raki. All the commercial, mass produced Turkish Rakis have the same percent of alcohol content as the Ouzo, between %35 to %45. Only the home made ones may taste like really really strong, only if it has very high amount of alcohol content per volume.
I used to enjoy Raki back in Turkey, and wanted to try Ouzo for myself here in America. I couldn't really find lots of a difference between the two, and wanted to "google" the differences; came up with your post.
I would only tell you these two difference: The name of those delightful liquids and a slightly different flavor. I loved them both, however.
Thank you for your post. That was a pleasure to read.
Cheers!
I'm not Turkish, or Greek, but lemme tell you, the Turkish guy above this comment is definitely right. I've had so much raki (and ouzo) it makes me sick to think of it, and NONE of it was super strong or without anise seed. I've travelled extensively in this part of the world, speak a bit of the languages, know the food and drink well, and play much of the music. I think your confusion might come from the influence of one of Greece's other neighbors, Bulgaria. They drink something called 'rakia', which is grape brandy with no anise and is as often very strong as it is 35-45%. The two words look similar but sound different: 'ROCK-uh', verses 'rock-EE-yuh'. In some Greek islands there is a tradition of drinking a thimble of rakia in the morning, instead of say, coffee. Combating the foggy, morning cold, you know ;)
So to recap - ouzo is made from raisin and anise, raki is made from raisin and anise, rakia is made from grapes, and can often be very strong (especially in the islands). It's not all that common to find homemade ouzo or raki but it can be common to find homemade rakia.
I agree with above commenters. There is a slight difference between Ouzo and Raki; for me Raki is slightly better. From drink-culture perspective they are really same. You generally drink it with friends, while sitting on the table for long time (no shots), ideally with mezes or grilled fish, preferably during or after sunset, and it should be cool. Even the music they're listening while consuming the food is similar to each other. One of the reasons of this similarity is the fact that Greek and Turkish people has lived together for many many long years and they broke bread together. Drinking raki/ouzo is a joy for both culture; Greeks call it Kefi and Turks call it Keyif. It is not a surprise that they don't share only culture, food but also words in their languages. Saying all this, good to mention that anise liqueurs don't just belong this region. Many culture touching Mediterranean love eating good food and along with has a traditional anise liqueur with different tastes: Ouzo, Arak (Arrack), Raki, Sambuca, Chinchon, Pastis, Absinthe are just some I can remember now.
Raki is only found in anise. Various plants in ouzo. If you are ouzo from raki grape, alcohol can be taken from everything.
Raki or Ouzo flavours may change. It is not the drink but the culture of sitting together with friends and sharing a special moment together with your friends and beloved ones. Mezes and their quality, the atmosphere you are sharing, anywhere can be great for this experience but there few places on Earth more inspiring than Bosporus. Still there is no escaping from mutual heritage, things get better when raki adds to friendship and that is what it has always been able to do for centuries.
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