• Category: arak
• Alcohol: unknown, presumably around 50%
• Origin: Lebanon
• Manufacturer: unknown
• Bought at: Harb Gmbh, Berlin, Germany

This is another arak from Zahle, Lebanon, that I bought in Berlin. The brand is called “Waterfalls of the Bardouni river”, which is the river that flows through Zahle. And, of course, Zahle is the wine and arak capital of Lebanon, located in the Bekaa valley. The label is rather scanty; there is no mention of producers, alcohol content, or any other piece of information. There is only the name, and a telephone number in Zahle. I haven’t seen it for sale in Lebanon anywhere, so it quite likely is of a small producer. But in any case it is certainly one of good quality; the fellows at Harb, Berlin, liked it over the other brands! 7/10

• Category: arak
• Alcohol: 53%
• Origin: Lebanon
• Manufacturer: Tarek Youssef Ghantous et frères
• Bought at: Maroush Deli, London, UK

Many people get really drunk from arak; in the case of bad arak the hangover is awful; in case of good arak there is no hangover. Of course this law does not apply for everybody in every situation. On an empty stomach even the best arak would get you totally wasted. However, if you do drink a lot of arak, yet do not get a hangover, then you can rightfully draw the conclusion that the arak was of high quality. This arak indeed is of high quality, and this is an established fact…
Arak al Karram comes from Zahle, Lebanon. 8/10.

External link: Arak al Karram official site

• Category: fig brandy
• Alcohol: 36%
• Origin: Tunisia
• Manufacturer: Félix Habib & Cie.
• Bought at: Harb Gmbh, Berlin, Germany (thanks Jaap!)

Fig brandy is something that has to grow on you. It is produced in Portugal (named aguardente de figo), but apart from that it is a typically north African Jewish product. My first introduction to boukha was not very special (as is clear from the first review on this website), but it has indeed since then grown on my. I have tended to rate boukha higher and higher over time, and consequently the earlier ratings might require an update of some sorts. But that’s too late… Anyway, even though boukha Soleil is the ‘regular’ version of the Boukha Gold, the difference in quality is only marginal. I personally prefer boukha at room temperature, but it can also be drunk cold. 7/10

• Category: raisin brandy
• Alcohol: 50%
• Origin: USA
• Manufacturer: Bear & Eagle Products
• Bought at: Wholesome Choice supermarket, Irvine CA (Thanks Henk!)

This is strictly no Arabic liquor, but Persian. Moreover, it is not made in Iran but in California, where apparently a large part of the Iranian diaspora is found. Nevertheless I find it suitable to discuss this liquor because of the obscurity factor. What immediately attracts attention is the amalgamation of scripts on the label: from top to bottom, Armenian, Russian, Arabic, and Latin. The Arabic scripts says “raisin arak” in Persian, and it is exactly that. Using dried grapes (raisins) as a basis for a brandy is quite special since most grape-based brandies are either based on normal grapes (cognac), or on pomace (grappa, marc). Indeed it is so special that I am unaware of other manufacturers. At first smell it immediately reminds of spiritus, but the taste itself is very fruity and pleasant. The taste clearly resembles overripe fruit, similar to Spanish orujo; this characteristic can of course be ascribed to the raisins. The “overripeness” is however not necessarily a bad thing, and indeed it works quite well here. There is significantly more to taste than in grape or pomace brandies. With 50% alcohol the drink is quite fierce, and diluting it with some water makes it more palatable (there is however also a 40% alcohol version available). 8/10

External link: Bear & Eagle Products

• Category: aniseed liqueur
• Alcohol: 36,4%
• Origin: Morocco
• Manufacturer: Les Economats du Maghreb
• Bought at: Supermarket, Morocco (thanks Eert’s father!)

Taounate apparently refers to a locality in the north of Morocco, close to Fes. This Moroccan liqueur (sweetened liquor) fortunately is not very sweet. Instead it has a strong aniseed aroma (it smells like arak), but the combination with the sugar makes it taste more like licorice than like anise. It is not too bad, but the aftertaste slightly has an industrial flavor to it, albeit by far not as dominant as in Tamrirt. It is unclear what the spirit is made of, but the palm trees on the cover might indicate that it is made of dates, similar to the Egyptian arak Meliniotis (qv). The taste also resembles that of arak Meliniotis. The rather cheap (plastic!) bottle is interesting as well: it features a familiar topos (palm trees) in addition to a rather unexpected hand of Fatima (symbol against the evil eye) on the bottleneck. However, the khamsa (as it is more correctly referred to) serves the same purpose in Judaism, and in this case this relation seems to be more likely. 6,5/10.

External link: Map (Arabic), Map (French) of the region
External link: Wikipedia: Khamsa

• Category: fig brandy (flavored with aniseed)
• Alcohol: 41%
• Origin: Morocco
• Manufacturer: Chai Andrieux
• Bought at: Supermarket Marrakesh, Morocco (thanks Renée!)

This bottle of mahia is interesting for the accumulation of languages on the label: french, english, berber, hebrew, and only only marginally arabic. The hebrew reminds of the (once sizeable but now rather small) Jewish population of Morocco. This population traditionally were (and are) the manufacturers of spirits such as these. The Hebrew simply says the name “tamrirt”. I have not been able to find out what the Berber word “Tamrirt” actually; Google vaguely tells about a valley in Algeria, but more information is appreciated. The smell is similar to that of the French mahia Meknesiah (rather aniseed). However after tasting it becomes clear that the Mahia Meknesiah is of a completely different quality. Tamrirt is not The best of spiritueux as the label argues; instead it is intensely bitter and chemical. The question is whether there is any way of concealing the taste in order to make it consumable. However I dare not to try. It is probably even worse than the Finlandia Vodka of Cairo, which results in the lowest rating until now 1,5/10.

• Category: date brandy
• Alcohol: 43%
• Origin: Tunisia
• Manufacturer: Sté. Sarab S.A.R.L.
• Bought at: Tunis Airport, Tunisia (thanks Peter and Wanda!)

Sarab is a company which makes dates brandies (two variants) and dates liqueur (also two variants) mainly for the German market. I have not seen it for sale in Tunisia proper (outside the airports). This is the top-grade brandy variant, with a higher alcohol percentage. It is fairly strong and quite syrupy if cooled. Fragrance of dates are clearly distinguishable. Too bad that it is so hard to come by, or that there are no other producers. Apparently it is also good in cocktails, but I have not tried it. 8/10.

External link: Sarab German site

• Category: arak (on the basis of grapes)
• Alcohol: 51,5%
• Origin: Syria
• Manufacturer: Syrian Arab Company for Grape Processing
• Bought at: Harb Gmbh, Berlin, Germany

Reputedly Syrian arak is better than other araks, because of the quality of the aniseed, but this is usually articulated by (presumably slightly biased) Syrians. However it surely belongs to the better brands of arak. It has a stronger-than-usual aniseed fragrance to it, and there is no artificial sweetening. Unfortunately it is hard to come by. 8/10.

• Category: fig brandy
• Alcohol: 36%
• Origin: Tunisia
• Manufacturer: Félix Habib & Cie.
• Bought at: Tunis Airport, Tunisia (thanks Laura!)

Félix Habib & Cie and Bokobsa are the two best known distillers in Tunisia. Félix Habib is famous because of its Cédratine, and its boukha Soleil. This boukha is the higher quality version of Boukha Soleil. The smell is distinctly fragrant of figs, and the taste is indeed also better than the Boukha l’Oasis and the regular Boukha Soleil. 7/10

• Category: arak (on the basis of grapes)
• Alcohol: 50%
• Origin: Jordan
• Manufacturer: Eagle Distilleries Co.
• Bought in: Jordan (thanks Lennart!)

This “triply distilled” product of Jordan comes in a nice bottle with a clever pouring enhancement. It makes measuring a lot easier. Just as the Lebanese arak Touma, the manufacturer also uses the classification “King of Arak”. The taste is good, but a little flat; not as complex as the good Lebanese brands. However the quality is very good, and it certainly does not give you a hang-over. 8,5/10.

External link: Eagle Distilleries official site