• Category: arak (on the basis of grapes)
• Alcohol: 53%
• Origin: Lebanon
• Manufacturer: Chateau Ksara
• Bought at: Liquor store, Draguignan, France

Arak Saïbada is identical to arak Ksara, since it is produced by Chateau Ksara. It is renamed and distributed in France by Ricard as part of their series Anis du Monde (Aniseed drinks of the world), together with Ouzo Atéikos from Greece and Raki Fesaya from Turkey. For some reason it smells and tastes (almost) identical to arak Fakra, and therefore the same points that I wrote for Fakra count for Saïbada: very good, but not as intense as possible. 8/10.

External link: Ricard Anis du Monde
External link: Chateau Ksara official site

• Category: arak (on the basis of grapes)
• Alcohol: 55%
• Origin: Lebanon
• Manufacturer: Chateau Fakra
• Bought at: Cairo Airport, Egypt

Arak Fakra is one of the best known brands of Lebanese Arak, and it is available in various duty-free shops across the Middle East. Moreover it is generally regarded as one of the better commercially available brands, and the quality indeed is good. The aroma is not very intense, and but the taste is nice and full. Even though it is not the best arak I have ever tasted, it does belong in the higher regions. 8/10.

External link: Chateau Fakra official homepage

• Category: Vodka
• Alcohol: unknown, presumably about 35%
• Origin: Egypt
• Manufacturer: Salt and Pepper
• Bought at: Liquor store, Cairo, Egypt

I bought this small bottle (250cc) last summer in Egypt. The bottle is very crooked, there are bubbles inside the glass, and the brand name is obviously taken illegally from the well-known Finnish vodka brand. Moreover the content is disgusting and tastes very chemically. Travel guides warn for this stuff because of the risk of methanol poisoning. Fortunately I didn’t turn blind. The only way to drink it is to mix it with a lot of cola. 2/10.

• Category: fig brandy
• Alcohol: 37,5%
• Origin: Tunisia
• Manufacturer: Bokobsa Frères
• Bought at: Raïnaraï, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Boukha l’Oasis is one of the three boukha’s (fig brandy) made by the Tunisian Jewish Bokobsa family. The other two are the regular Boukha Bokobsa, and the Boukha Bokobsa Cuvée Prestige, also known as black label. The boukha has a fairly strong and particular taste, and quite a few tasters therefore do not like it. It certainly is something to get used to. If drunk cold, it is not too bad (probably because the cold disguises the real taste). I also recommend it in fruit juices. It smells rather nice and the bottle looks nice, but the other brands of boukha are better. 5/10.

External link: Bokobsa official homepage
External link: French article on Boukha

This is the first post on the Arabic Liquor website. Please click on the link “The List” for my small collection of Arabic liquors.