1y ago

What is the most unusual spirit you have in your home bar?

I find unusual spirits interesting, and I want to hear about the ones you have.

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I had a bottle of Arak from Palestine, that a previous boss had imported, and then gifted to me. It's anise flavored, clear when warm, looks like a snow globe if you refrigerate it, and turns white when poured over ice. So neat, but it tasted like anise :-P
- There's a liquor from south/southeast Asia also called arak but it's totally different (not anise flavored, made from coconut or palm sap). Wonder if the etymologies are the same.
  https://balipedia.com/bali-arak/
  
  That sounds good, too! Interesting read, thanks!
- I love Arak. Every country in that region has its local anise booze, and Israeli Arak is my favorite. I basically make my own by infusing vodka with anise.
  
  That's basically what I tasted when I drank it - anise and intense alcohol is what I remember. It smelled/felt really strong, but I couldn't read the label at all so I have no idea what the proof actually was. At least making your own with a base like vodka you get to know that :-P
- I love that stuff! Helps that I like anise. It's a lot like Ouzo, of course... I first ran into arak at a college bar in Lansing, MI. It's cool how it turns milky when you add water. A similar spirit is aguardiente, the national liquor of Columbia. Arak is hard to find but I located it in a couple stores in Denver.
  
  Man, I don't know if it was as potent as it felt, or if it was just the anise flavor making it feel more so, but it seems like a good fit for college town bars 😄
  I was so happy to hear that it's not unusual to serve it on the rocks and/or watered down. He referred to it as some kind of "milk"... "Lion's milk" maybe? (I maybe should have paid closer attention, but he was kind of a creeper)
  
  I for sure wouldn't trust some weird dude serving me "lion's milk", ha ha. And yeah, in Lansing they served it in a small tumbler on the rocks. It is very strong, I think the bottle I got (which was very ME style and looked awesome) was 90 proof.
- Sounds similar to absinthe
  
  Absinthe would be closest but this is essentially the anise and then a sweet grape flavor to it. A bit less complexity in ingredients yet it still has quite a lot of depth depending on the bottle.

117 comments