Home Distiller

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

Thanks Artooks - might give that a try

How does this turn out? Odin did a recipe with raisins that he said tasted more like raisins than grape brandy. Is yours the same or does the anise cover that up?

I've never had Turkish raki, but have had descendents in Cretan Raki and Croatian rakija. Both of those are without anise though.

Thanks for sharing.

SR

ShineRunner wrote:How does this turn out? Odin did a recipe with raisins that he said tasted more like raisins than grape brandy. Is yours the same or does the anise cover that up?

I've never had Turkish raki, but have had descendents in Cretan Raki and Croatian rakija. Both of those are without anise though.

Thanks for sharing.

SR

In most of europe - raisins \= red grapes dried - sultanas = white grapes dried - the wax added after drying is more of a problem for some - but art's method seems to bypass that

Shinerunner, this turns out great this is the traditional way of making Raki, I did this a few times and it really is tasting very good but I am still searching and trying to polish this recipe some does 3 distillations, I might change it later, but Odin's recipe is not Raki that is Grappa if I am not mistaken, Raki in Turkey is made from fresh and dried raisins, anise is a very strong botanical, so it is mainly dominant but the grape taste is also there there are many variations of Raki, but the one that I share is in summary grape or raisin alcohol infused with anise.

Pikey wrote:

ShineRunner wrote:How does this turn out? Odin did a recipe with raisins that he said tasted more like raisins than grape brandy. Is yours the same or does the anise cover that up?

I've never had Turkish raki, but have had descendents in Cretan Raki and Croatian rakija. Both of those are without anise though.

Thanks for sharing.

SR

In most of europe - raisins \= red grapes dried - sultanas = white grapes dried - the wax added after drying is more of a problem for some - but art's method seems to bypass that

That is correct here also in Turkey when you buy raisins they are a mix of white + red dried grapes - if you go to a shop and buy raisins it has wax but you can also purchase it without the wax also, that is called Raisin for Raki

These photos are from the day when we invited some friends over to try my very first batch, it turned out great, this is how we enjoy Raki, in one glass we put 1 part raki 1 part water or 2 part water really depends and we add ice, in another glass we only put water, when we drink raki we then take a sip of water, and that also gives a very good taste.

Arto,
Thank you for sharing this part of your culture! The photos of your table look like something that could be printed in a glossy page magazine, nicely done! You stated star anise originally in parentheses, do you mean you used star anise in your original batch or star anise was traditional? My question is do you recommend star anise or anise?
Thanks again for your excellent post!
Just Sayin'

The first distillation is with both the marc and the filtered wash in the boiler. Does it not tend to scorch? How do you prevent that?

Thanks Arto,

Considering the sugar content of raisins, this wash will have around 14% abv. So when someone tries this recipe, keep in mind, that the fermentation perhaps needs much more time in colder regions than Turkey and that it is perhaps beneficial to use an alcohol tolerant yeast and to add nutrients.

From my own experience with raisins and grapes I can say, that fresh grapes have a better and much stronger aroma than raisins. Taking into account the sugar content of course. You will need a bit more than 25kg grapes for 25l must with a similar abv like with 10kg raisins topped up to 25l. So with grapes it would be much more expensive. But probably the more anise you use the less different it is, if you use raisins or grapes.

Just Sayin,

The original recipe is done with Star Anise, but if you cannot find it you can do it with other types, just wanted to mention it.

Thanks Der Wo, I have supplied the original recipe, people here use some part of raisin and sugar to keep the amount of raisins at a lower level, The commercial Raki distilleries use both fresh grapes and raisins, so in the season they tend to use fresh grapes and the rest with raisins, some people add yeast nutrient some don't so I wanted to keep it at its minimum but if you think that it will be a better way I could add it since I know that it is being used in some recipes, with raisins you can use much less amount compared to raisins.

Kareltje,

I will update the distillation part to be able to make it much easier for a lot of people, so please do wait, thanks

Cool recipe, thanks for sharing.

The photo gives me good memories, each year i meet with some friends who are original Mediterranean stock and a traditional meal with all the fixin's is the venue, complete with raki. it is too much fun.

if you happen to be in Las vegas and have a desire for a traditional meal http://khouryslv.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

HDNB,

Thanks, Traditional Raki drinking is something else that is hard to explain but when to sit and drink it, it has to be with friends, raki drinking must be accompanied with Meze small side dishes please check, with those it gives the most pleasure.

Just updated some parts of the recipe it is final now

Wow, you edited 17 times. This is record!

Der Wo, I just did that not to lose anything that I wrote so each time I write I saved it because I remember sometimes I write something and when I push to submit, it takes me back to login and I lost everything that I wrote That is why I took precaution

Couple of questions arto :
1) You say "Raw sugar " do yu mean thick brown sugar - as I would, or just "ordinary white sugar" - not an issue - just clarification.
2) - WHat abv do you bottle at ? - You seem to be adjusting a 50% product - so can we assume somewhere a little above 40% ?
3) - ARe you going to try a "Grappa" style with this - say leave the sultanas + maybe add a few more and a bunch of sugar - to see if you can get another batch cheaper ?

Pikey wrote:Couple of questions arto :

Hello Pikey you can find my answers below.

1) You say "Raw sugar " do yu mean thick brown sugar - as I would, or just "ordinary white sugar" - not an issue - just clarification.

I mean ordinary white sugar.

2) - WHat abv do you bottle at ? - You seem to be adjusting a 50% product - so can we assume somewhere a little above 40% ?

I bottle at net 50% Raki in Turkey are sold in many brands and it ranges from 45 to 50 ABV, the reason I choose to bottle it at 50% is if I do 45 it might sometimes become mildly cloudy in the fridge but with %50 it never happens, so anyway when you drink Raki it always needs to be diluted but some people drink it without diluting it only by adding ice,
it really is a personal preference, and when you dilute it with water at %38 ABV it become completely cloudy.

3) - ARe you going to try a "Grappa" style with this - say leave the sultanas + maybe add a few more and a bunch of sugar - to see if you can get another batch cheaper ?

I am actually trying to find a good recipe for Grappa but that is completely different, grape pomace is used there whereas here we use either fresh or dried grapes, but taking into account the sugar content, dried raisins are what people are mainly using.

A Short video about Raki

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmsyx5h1EIU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

This is a commercial, if you ask me.
Strange because it promotes drinking of alcohol in a society/country that is more and more becoming strictly islamic.
And no information about making raki at all.

Something strange about this.

artooks wrote:I am actually trying to find a good recipe for Grappa but that is completely different, grape pomace is used there whereas here we use either fresh or dried grapes, but taking into account the sugar content, dried raisins are what people are mainly using.

Grappa doesn't really have a recipe. It's made from the pressings of whatever grapes you made your wine with.

Kareltje wrote:This is a commercial, if you ask me.
Strange because it promotes drinking of alcohol in a society/country that is more and more becoming strictly islamic.
And no information about making raki at all.

Something strange about this.

Hi Kareltje, first this is not a cımmercial, this is a very short and simple review about what Raki is? I uploaded this video to show people who don't know anything about Raki, so this is not a video on how Raki is made, Have you been to Istanbul? I guess not because if you did you would not make those comments at first place, so I would kindly ask you to read a little bit about the city and the country so that you will have a better understanding. I will try to find a video about how Raki is made but it can be in Turkish so I cannot promise.

This is also another video on what people are eating with Raki , this is again a very short one, still looking for a video to show how Raki is made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLTJCPrcArA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I do something similar with brandy made from white grapes (himrod and suffolk pink), redistilled with fresh, green fennel seeds and flowers instead of anise.

Unlike Ouzo, Anisette, etc I DO stop collecting in the mid tails as I don't like the louche in some cocktails I use it in.

Hi MDM,

When distilling Raki, in the final and second distillation when you reach the end around %38 ABV it starts to come cloudy so this is also a good indication either to stop or collect a little bit and keep it as feints because only the hearts are used to make Raki.

Where I live, anise seed is difficult to find and expensive when you do find it, but star anise is cheap and plentiful. How much star anise would be used instead of anise seed?

This is the Star Anise Seed, that is used for Traditional Raki, if you can find this one than it is ok.

That is not what is sold as star anise here. That looks the same as the anise seeds I use in my Absinthe.