Yeni Raki Seri

Yeni Raki Seri is a raki from Turkey, the country's traditional aniseed spirit, produced by Mey Icki under the Yeni Raki name. It is built on carefully selected grape distillate that is refined with aniseed to give the clear, aromatic character of the style, bottled at 45%. Raki sits at the heart of Turkish meze culture, and this bottling keeps to a clean, balanced expression of that tradition rather than a sweetened or flavoured one.

The nose is intense and aniseed driven, with herbs and a light grape note underneath. The palate is strong and aromatic, leaning on aniseed and herbs with a slightly sweetish edge, and the finish runs spicy, warm and long. Like all raki it clouds to a milky white when cold water is added, the so called lion's milk, which is how it is traditionally served, long over ice with water alongside. That dilution softens the strength and opens the anise, making it a table spirit rather than a cocktail modifier. It carries a meze spread of grilled fish, seafood, olives, feta and aubergine, and works equally with grilled meat and Mediterranean salads.