Arto’s Traditional Turkish Raki
Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 6:20 am
I have been in the forum for at least a few months, many people here helped me a lot to start out and really benefited from all and now I feel that I have to do the same to share my knowledge with the community, the first reason I started distilling is to make RAKI, this is an anise based traditional Turkish Spirit. here goes the recipe
Arto’s Traditional Turkish Rakı (Recipe for 6 Gallons – 25 Litre)
Ingredients
For 25 Lt Mash
• 10 Kg Dried Seedless Sultana Raisins
• 13lt Water ( After adding the raisind top up to 25 lt)
• 1.5-2 Lemon Juice
• 15 Gram Wine Yeast
• Anise Seed ( 100 Grams for every 1 lt of %50 ABV alcohol
• Raw Sugar ( 5-10 Grams for every 1 lt of %50 ABV alcohol
1) Bring 13 lt of drinking water to boil and pour it over 10kg of seedless dried Sultana raisins in a basket, this will soften the raisins and also will sterilize them,
keep them in this water for 2 days, at the end they will get swell and soft.
2) Take the raisins out and put them into a food processor or meat mincer and run it add a little bit of the grape mash liquid to make them even softer and easier to be
processed. Then add the processed raisins and the 13 lt of water which has been kept for 2 days, to the fermentation vessel
3) Take a 1 lt jar and fill with a glass of water that has been kept for 2 days and add the 15 Gr Wine yeast (Check yeast specs for adding the right amount), and stir the yeast
with a spoon to dissolve it, leave it for 18 hrs for the yeast to get active, multiply and to adjust to the environment.
4) Top up the fermentation vessel to 25 litres, add 2 lemon juice and pour the yeast on top.
5) During fermentation, the daily maintenance of the grapes should be done day and night, there will be grapes which will float on the top, open the lid of the fermenter
push them down and stir a little bit, otherwise, they will get dry and mold will for on the parts that exposed to air. Do this for 4-5 days.
6) Fermentation Temperature should be between 25-30 Degrees Celcius, the fermentation will be over in 7-10 days check the air bubbles, if you see no bubbles, the
fermentation is over.
7) Once the fermentation is over filter out all the marc and add the filtered liquid back into the mash and do a cold crash at 4-5 degrees Celcius, for the sediment to settle
down.
8 ) FG should be at 0.990
9 ) Syphon the wash to the boiler, without disturbing the yeast cake and start distillation.
1st Distillation
• Distillation must be done in a Pot-Still.
• Pour in the grape wash in the boiler.
• Add some copper mesh in the column.
• Distillation must be done slowly.
• No cuts in 1st Distillation
• Charge the boiler and once you see a few drops dial it back and distil the alcohol.
• Taste it from time to time once you see the alcohol content has gotten less, stop the distillation.
2nd Distillation – Maceration with Anise Seed
• Calculate the ABV of the Alcohol if it is above %50 ABV dilute it to %50 ABV.
• Calculate how much %50 ABV you have lets say we have 2 lt of %50 ABV
• For every 1 lt of %50 ABV Raki add 100 gram Anise Seed (Star Anise originally) for example if you have 4lt of alcohol at 90 ABV
that means 7.2 lt fnished product at %50 ABV
• Let it Macerate at room temperature for 2 days
• Filter out anise seed, dilute the alcohol to %45 ABV and add it to the boiler.
• Add some copper mesh in the column.
• Start distillation very slowly
• Calculate the alcohol content if we have 2 lt of %50 ABV it means we have 1 litre of Pure Alcohol, so from there take 3% as foreshots, 17% Heads, %60 Hearts ( This is the
part which will be used) and %20 tails, but the cut is done best at smelling and tasting the spirit, collecting it in small jars and aerate for 1 day.
but the above will give a rough indication in percentages.
• The hearts will be collected around 80% ABV dilute it to 50% ABV
• Before dilution, add 5-10 grams of granulated sugar for every 1 lt of %50 ABV by melting the sugar in the water, which will be used later for dilution.
• Let it sit for 5 weeks.
• Enjoy – Raki tends to go cloudy if it is below 38% ABV – Rakı is enjoyed with 1 part raki and 1 part water – and plain water in another glass, take one sip from raki then
drink a little bit of water.
Arto
Arto’s Traditional Turkish Rakı (Recipe for 6 Gallons – 25 Litre)
Ingredients
For 25 Lt Mash
• 10 Kg Dried Seedless Sultana Raisins
• 13lt Water ( After adding the raisind top up to 25 lt)
• 1.5-2 Lemon Juice
• 15 Gram Wine Yeast
• Anise Seed ( 100 Grams for every 1 lt of %50 ABV alcohol
• Raw Sugar ( 5-10 Grams for every 1 lt of %50 ABV alcohol
1) Bring 13 lt of drinking water to boil and pour it over 10kg of seedless dried Sultana raisins in a basket, this will soften the raisins and also will sterilize them,
keep them in this water for 2 days, at the end they will get swell and soft.
2) Take the raisins out and put them into a food processor or meat mincer and run it add a little bit of the grape mash liquid to make them even softer and easier to be
processed. Then add the processed raisins and the 13 lt of water which has been kept for 2 days, to the fermentation vessel
3) Take a 1 lt jar and fill with a glass of water that has been kept for 2 days and add the 15 Gr Wine yeast (Check yeast specs for adding the right amount), and stir the yeast
with a spoon to dissolve it, leave it for 18 hrs for the yeast to get active, multiply and to adjust to the environment.
4) Top up the fermentation vessel to 25 litres, add 2 lemon juice and pour the yeast on top.
5) During fermentation, the daily maintenance of the grapes should be done day and night, there will be grapes which will float on the top, open the lid of the fermenter
push them down and stir a little bit, otherwise, they will get dry and mold will for on the parts that exposed to air. Do this for 4-5 days.
6) Fermentation Temperature should be between 25-30 Degrees Celcius, the fermentation will be over in 7-10 days check the air bubbles, if you see no bubbles, the
fermentation is over.
7) Once the fermentation is over filter out all the marc and add the filtered liquid back into the mash and do a cold crash at 4-5 degrees Celcius, for the sediment to settle
down.
8 ) FG should be at 0.990
9 ) Syphon the wash to the boiler, without disturbing the yeast cake and start distillation.
1st Distillation
• Distillation must be done in a Pot-Still.
• Pour in the grape wash in the boiler.
• Add some copper mesh in the column.
• Distillation must be done slowly.
• No cuts in 1st Distillation
• Charge the boiler and once you see a few drops dial it back and distil the alcohol.
• Taste it from time to time once you see the alcohol content has gotten less, stop the distillation.
2nd Distillation – Maceration with Anise Seed
• Calculate the ABV of the Alcohol if it is above %50 ABV dilute it to %50 ABV.
• Calculate how much %50 ABV you have lets say we have 2 lt of %50 ABV
• For every 1 lt of %50 ABV Raki add 100 gram Anise Seed (Star Anise originally) for example if you have 4lt of alcohol at 90 ABV
that means 7.2 lt fnished product at %50 ABV
• Let it Macerate at room temperature for 2 days
• Filter out anise seed, dilute the alcohol to %45 ABV and add it to the boiler.
• Add some copper mesh in the column.
• Start distillation very slowly
• Calculate the alcohol content if we have 2 lt of %50 ABV it means we have 1 litre of Pure Alcohol, so from there take 3% as foreshots, 17% Heads, %60 Hearts ( This is the
part which will be used) and %20 tails, but the cut is done best at smelling and tasting the spirit, collecting it in small jars and aerate for 1 day.
but the above will give a rough indication in percentages.
• The hearts will be collected around 80% ABV dilute it to 50% ABV
• Before dilution, add 5-10 grams of granulated sugar for every 1 lt of %50 ABV by melting the sugar in the water, which will be used later for dilution.
• Let it sit for 5 weeks.
• Enjoy – Raki tends to go cloudy if it is below 38% ABV – Rakı is enjoyed with 1 part raki and 1 part water – and plain water in another glass, take one sip from raki then
drink a little bit of water.
Arto