How to Drink Rakı
Rakı is Turkey's national drink and the spine of any meyhane evening. It is also the thing visitors most often get wrong — usually by treating it like a shot. It is not. Here is how it actually works.
What rakı is
Rakı is a clear spirit distilled from grapes or raisins and flavoured with aniseed. It usually sits somewhere between 40% and 50% alcohol. It belongs to the same family as Greek ouzo, French pastis and Middle Eastern arak, but it is drier and more strongly anise-forward than most of them.
It is almost never drunk neat, and almost never drunk alone.
Why it turns white — "lion's milk"
Add water to a clear glass of rakı and it clouds instantly into a soft milky white. This is not a trick: the anise oil (anethole) dissolves in alcohol but not in water, so diluting it releases microscopic droplets that scatter light.
Turks call the result aslan sütü — lion's milk. The nickname carries the implication that it is a drink for people who can handle it, and that it should be treated with a certain respect.
The correct order: rakı, then water, then ice
- Pour the rakı first into a tall, narrow rakı glass — roughly a third of the glass.
- Add cold water on top. The common ratio is 1 part rakı to 1 or 2 parts water, depending on how strong you want it. Watch it turn white.
- Add ice last, if you want it. Dropping ice straight into undiluted rakı chills the anise oil too fast and can leave it clumping on the surface. Water first, ice after.
Beside the rakı glass there is almost always a second glass of plain cold water. You drink from it throughout the evening. This is not decoration — it is the reason people can sit at a rakı table for hours.
What to eat with it
Rakı is a food drink. It is sharp, dry and aniseed-heavy, so it wants salt, fat and acidity opposite it.
The classic, almost ceremonial pairing is white cheese and melon. Beyond that: cold meze such as haydari, fava, girit ezme and marinated vegetables; oily seafood; and above all fish. "Rakı-balık" — rakı and fish — is its own institution in Istanbul.
What it does not want is to be drunk on an empty stomach. That is the single most common visitor mistake and the reason for most bad next mornings.
Etiquette at the rakı table
- Fill other people's glasses, not your own. Someone will fill yours.
- Şerefe is the toast. Glasses are often clinked low, toward the base — a gesture of humility.
- Go slowly. One bottle shared between three or four people across an entire evening is completely normal.
- Never mix rakı with other spirits during the evening. Turks are firm about this.
- Eat continuously. The meze are not a starter; they last as long as the bottle does.
A note on pace
A rakı evening is judged by conversation, not consumption. The bottle sits in the middle of the table and is refilled slowly, deliberately, between stories. If you find yourself finishing a glass quickly, you are drinking it wrong — and you will feel it.
Drink water. Eat between sips. Let the evening take its time.
Frequently asked questions
What is the correct rakı to water ratio?
One part rakı to one or two parts water is standard. Start at 1:2 if it is your first time — you can always pour it stronger next round.
Should I put ice in rakı?
You can, but add it after the water. Ice dropped into undiluted rakı chills the anise oil too quickly and can leave it clumping on the surface.
Why is rakı called lion's milk?
Because it turns milky white when water is added, and because it has a reputation as a drink for those who can handle it. In Turkish it is aslan sütü.
What food goes best with rakı?
White cheese and melon is the classic pairing. Beyond that: cold meze, seafood and grilled fish. Rakı is always drunk with food, never on its own.
How strong is rakı?
Usually between 40% and 50% alcohol by volume, though it is always diluted with water before drinking.