Raki - What You Need to Know About Greek Raki (Tsikoudia)
Sans Peur
Grete & Fred Vithen
Sun 20 Nov 2022 08:56
What you need to know about Cretan, Raki
If you’ve ever been to the Greek island of Crete, chances are pretty good that you’ve had a spirit called Raki (In Italy it's called Grappa).
It's home made. To Americans, it’s often considered a form of moonshine, especially when they learn how it’s made.
So, what is Raki exactly and why are Cretans so proud of it?
Simply put, Raki comes from byproducts created from the wine making process. After the grapes are pressed and the juice is stored so that it can begin fermenting, there’s a lot of leftover plant material.
The resulting skins, twigs, and mash, which is referred to as pomace, is stored for around six weeks before it’s distilled into Raki.
20 November in the small village of Istros.
This night the yearly production og Raki was made. It took many hours and many many liters was made.
Wood fired
Ready to drink. About 45%.
Grete and I, Fred, got 1,5 liter bought some small plastic glasses and let all sailors have a try.
It was an success and all Raki disappeared no time. Yamas!