"Keyfiyet" - The Ehlikeyif
for Rakı / Arak / Ouzo The People of Pleasure - A short historic narrative by Soy The first spirit ever distilled, the Arak (or "Rakı" in modern Turkish), the distilled aniseed liquor, first found life in the Alembics of the Abbasid Imperial Capital, Bağdad, at the hands of Râzî, the first Master-Distiller in History right after Distillation was invented, and immediately made its way into Anatolia, Greece and the Balkans, maturing until the Ottoman Empire, and becoming by the beginning of the 19th century somewhat of a masculinity icon among the populace. Rakı consumption gained by this mean quite of an etiquette to which consumers were required to adhere not to face social rejection at the meyhane tables of the former Empire, a few of these are: -Rakı is not to be drunk alone; it has to have an assortment of mezes as a company, or in the lack thereof, a few seasonal fruits, sliced. -One should only drink until tipsy, getting drunk is not socially permissible. -A rakı glas