Raki Description and Distinguishing Features of the Product: Rakı is a unique, clear distilled spirit with at least 40% alcohol content. Its special qualities come from natural ingredients found within the borders of the Republic of Turkey, particularly grapes cultivated in Turkey, aniseed, and traditional Turkish production techniques. Rakı is crafted by distilling suma or a mixture of suma and agricultural ethyl alcohol in traditional copper stills with a capacity of 5000 liters or less, with the entire production process carried out within Turkey’s borders. When tasted, it exhibits a pronounced anise aroma on the nose, a rich and balanced anise-flavored alcoholic taste on the palate, enhanced by the scent of grapes, and leaves a smooth finish in the throat. The unique flavor of Rakı comes from the combination of grape distillate and aromatic compounds derived from aniseed. The key elements that define Rakı’s distinctive qualities include: - Use of traditional copper stills with a maximum filling volume of 5000 liters. - All stages such as grape must preparation, ethyl alcohol fermentation using yeast, suma production, and final Rakı distillation are fully conducted within Turkey. - At least 65% of the total alcohol charged into the copper still during Rakı production must be suma. Agricultural ethyl alcohol can be used up to a maximum of 35% of the total alcohol. - Suma is exclusively produced from grape varieties grown solely in Turkey, including but not limited to Sultani seedless, Round seedless, Dimrit, Akdimrit, Karadimrit, Razaki, Mevlana, Pink Razaki, Dımışkı, Tarsus white, Emir, Narince, Yapıncak, Rumi, Karasakız, Horoz karası, İri kara, Dökülgen, Çal karası, Misket, Kalecik karası, Öküzgözü, and Boğazkere. - What distinguishes suma from other agricultural distillates and ethyl alcohols is that it is made solely from grapes, with an alcohol concentration not exceeding 94.5%. A special differential distillation process is applied to retain the grape’s flavor and aroma. The process of suma production includes alcohol fermentation followed by column and/or pot distillation. Initially, a high alcohol-producing yeast strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is added to the grape must. The fermentation produces ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide as primary products, along with aroma compounds as secondary by-products. Production Method: Obtaining grape must and preparing the mash: In suma production, either fresh or dried grapes are utilized. Production of grape must from dried grapes: To avoid mold growth, the moisture content in dried grapes must be kept below 14% during storage. The sugar content in dried grapes typically ranges between 50-75% (weight/weight), depending on the grape variety and quality. After undergoing washing and sorting, the dried grapes are cut with knives during mashing to help release the sugars into the water. The chopped grapes are collected in a balancing tank and mixed with water to achieve a sugar concentration usually around 15-17%. Production of grape must from fresh grapes: Fresh grapes are cleaned from impurities, then separated and crushed using a stem remover and crusher machine. The crushed grapes are pressed or passed through a bladder press to separate the pomace (skins and seeds), yielding the grape must. The sugar content of fresh grapes varies between 11-25% (7-14 °Brix) as the harvest season progresses from June through October. Yeast propagation and alcohol fermentation: Before fermentation begins, a two-stage yeast propagation process is conducted using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast strain employed in rakı production. The propagated yeast is added into the fermentation tank along with the grape must to start fermentation. The fermentation process is closely monitored by measuring temperature and density changes. The primary products of fermentation are ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. Secondary fermentation byproducts include glycerol, acetaldehyde, higher alcohols, acids, esters, and methanol.