Rakı

I had never eaten melon with feta before. I certainly hadn't had it at the start of a meal. "But it's the best appetizer for raki," says Byron Nicolaides as he poured. "In the summer, when I'm on an island, as soon as I sit at the table, I ask if they have good melon, and they look at me with confusion.

Traditional meeting places with quality seafood, ouzo, and tsipouro

At the top of the list is Speyside Scotch – What positions do tsikoudia, tsipouro, Metaxa brandy, zivania & ouzo hold?

To welcome the year in a jolly and oriental mood with the sounds of the oud and the violin, join the festivities at the Mousiko Kafeneio (2 Feidiou) in the heart of Athens.

Two Cretan producers of traditional tsikoudia, a clear spirit made by distilling grape pomace that is also known as raki, face hundreds of thousands of euros in fines after being caught without the proper permits.

More ouzo, tsipouro and raki produced by Greek distilleries than ever before went to consumers outside Greece in 2022, as a historic record was set in exports of Greek alcoholic beverages.

Exports were higher in value and quantity not only compared to 2021 but also to 2019, the last year before the outbreak of the pandemic.

The Greek distillery industry is brimming with optimism as Greek beverages are gaining an increasing foothold domestically and abroad. From 2019 to 2022, exports rose 22%, spearheaded by ouzo.

Security forces have seized a total of 77 tons of bootleg wine at a vinegar factory in the Şarköy district of the northwestern province of Tekirdağ.

Teams from the local police force's Organized Crime and Smuggling Department figured that barrels with bootleg wine were being handled at a plant.

Authorities in Istanbul silently demoted a well-known Ottoman boozer's status from "evliya," roughly meaning "saint," to "his excellency" as his former title had been debated due to his heavy drinking habits.

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One person has died and 10 others have been hospitalized after consuming bootleg alcohol in the Çorlu district of the northwestern province of Tekirdağ.

Some 11 people from different neighborhoods of the district fell sick and went to the hospital overnight.

It emerged that those people consumed bootleg rakı. Four of those admitted to the hospital were intubated.