Arak ALZAWZANI

Arak Al-Zawzani (A National Lebanese Drink)

Arak or araq (Arabic: ﻋﺮﻕ) is a distilled Levantine spirit of the anise drinks family. It is translucent and unsweetened.

Arak is often called the national drink of Lebanon. Often made from the Marawi and Obaideh grape varieties, a center of production is the Bekaa Valley vineyards. Raw Arak is transparent in color just like water, but when you mix it with water (must be mixed) it turns into a semi-translucent milky color.

Arak is traditionally made of grapes and aniseed (the seeds of the anise plant); when crushed, their oil provides arak with a slight licorice taste. Typically, arak is a minimum of 40% alcohol by volume (ABV), and can be up to 63% ABV (126 proof).[2] A 53% ABV is considered typical.