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For anyone who has been to Greece, and Crete especially, you will know that Greek Raki is totally different to the Turkish variant. Where the Turkish Raki has an aniseed flavour, similair to Ouzo, the Greek variant has no flavour that can be described.

Distilled from the waste products left over after the wine has been made, raki is distilled and produced in about ten minutes flat. This first distillation produces a drink anywhere between 45% and 80% ABV, a fairly potent brew I am sure you will agree. The clear liquid looks innocuous enough, but when given a shot glass of the stuff and a harsh "Yammas" (Your health), then it loses all innocence as it grabs the back of your throat and slowly burns it's way down to your stomach.

It is a drink you can get used to, but it takes a lot of getting used to! To make it more palatable it is a tradition to have small appetisers whilst drinking this fearsome drink, small titbits such as melon, cucumber, nuts, figs, salmon....in fact pretty much anything to get in your mouth as soon as possible after you have drunk it.

There are some variants made from this original clear raki, some families will make "Rakomena", which is raki with copiuos amounts of honey dissolved in it, sometimes as much as a kilo of honey per litre of raki, this blending creates a remarkably smooth and sweet drink that can be enjoyed very easily, but still beware the potency of the brew.

There are also various rakis that have had wild herbs added such as thyme or rosemary, each family is fiercely proud of their own recipes and will ensure you try theirs if you get the chance.

Most restaraunts in Crete will leave you a small decanter of chilled raki at the end of your meal, it is said it aids digestion and I must agree, I never suffer form indigestion after a Cretan meal. One word of advice when filling glasses from this decanter, it is considered rude to fill up anothers glass to the brim, especially a Cretans, half or three quarters full is more than enough.

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