Anatolia, Cradle of Civilisation

Anatolian soil has a cultural richness and diversity which is thousands of years old and it is also known as the place where alcoholic beverages and drinking culture first appeared. The Anatolian Tigris-Euphrates and basins, the home of the grapevine, are shown as the region in which the first wine production was realized. The Hittite golden wine bowl found in the Alacahöyük excavations, the wine glasses found in Yozgat and Konya, and discoveries regarding the goddess of fertility indicate that drinking culture in Anatolia reaches as far back as 3000 B. C. The alcoholic beverages that came to life on Anatolian soil, met with new production techniques as they spread to other parts of the world. As distilled alcohol, once called the ''elixir of life'' was used in medicine, beverages made from distilled alcohol became prevalent in and alcohol began to acquire commercial value in the 13th century.

In the Ottoman period, alcoholic beverages were subject to similar enforcements as tobacco products in terms of tax regulations and became a source of income that was frequently called upon in financial crisis and debt payments.

It is believed that raki produced in Anatolia has a history of at least 300 years. It is said that the addition of aniseed gave raki its character as a Turkish drink. In various sources from ancient times aniseed is defined as a herb that helps breathing and has warming, pain relieving, healing effects.

Raki is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by twice distilling either only suma or suma that has been mixed with ethyl alcohol in traditional copper alembics of 5000 lt volume or less with aniseed.

The aniseed that gives raki its special scent is not discernable in the raki since it dissolves completely, but when water is added to raki, it reveals itself by whitening the liquid.