Arrack

This article is about the South Asian alcoholic beverage. For the Middle Eastern liquor, see Arak (drink). For other uses, see Arak (disambiguation).

Arrack

Two kinds of Arrack from Sri Lanka
Type	alcoholic drink
Related products

Arrack, also spelled arak, is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in South Asia and South East Asia, made from either the fermented sap of coconut flowers, sugarcane, grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon the country of origin. The clear distillate may be blended, aged in wooden barrels, or repeatedly distilled and filtered depending upon the taste and color objectives of the manufacturer. Arrack is not to be confused with Arak, an anise-flavored alcoholic beverage traditionally consumed in Eastern Mediterranean and North African countries.

Etymology

Some modern authorities believe the word is derived from the Arabic word arak (عرق, araq), meaning 'condensation'. In the Middle East and Near East, the term arak is usually used for liquor distilled from grapes and flavored with anise.^{[citation needed]} However, coconut 'arrack' is considered by some Muslims as a "loophole" in the prohibition against alcohol because it is made from neither grain nor fruit, thus allowing its consumption.

Unlike Arak, the word arrack has been considered by old experts to derived from areca nut, a palm seed originating in India from the Areca tree and used as the basis for many varieties of arrack. This tree is from a similar family as the Arrack Tree of Japan. In 1838, Samuel Morewood's work on the histories of liquiors was published. On the topic of arrack he had this to state:

“

The word arrack is decided by philologers to be of Indian origin ; and should the conjecture be correct, that it is derived from the areca-nut, or the arrack-tree, as Kcempfer calls it, J it is clear, that as a spirit was extracted from that fruit, the name was given to all liquors having similar intoxicating effects. The term arrack being common in eastern countries where the arts of civilized life have been so early cultivated, it is more reasonable to suppose that the Tartars received this word through their eastern connexions with the Chinese, or other oriental nations, than to attribute it to a derivation foreign to their language, or as a generic term of their own. The great source of all Indian literature, and the parent of almost every oriental dialect, is the Sanscrit, a language of the most venerable and unfathomable antiquity, though now confined to the libraries of the Brahmins, and solely appropriated to religious laws and records. Mr. Halhed, in the preface to his Grammar of the Bengal language, says, that he was astonished to find a strong similitude between the Persian, Arabian, and even the Latin and Greek languages, not merely in technical and metaphorical terms, which the mutation of refined arts or improved manners might have incidentally introduced, but in the very groundwork of language in monosyllables in the names of numbers, and the appellations which would be first employed on the immediate dawn of civilisation. Telinga is a dialect of the Sanscrit, in which the word areca is found, it is used by the Brahmins in writing Sancrit, and since to the latter all the other tongues of India are more or less indebted, the term areca, or arrack, may be fairly traced through the different languages of the East, so that the general use and application of this word in Asiatic countries cannot appear strange. To these considerations may be added, that in Malabar the tree which yields the material from which this oriental beverage is produced is termed areca, and, among the Tungusians, Calmucks, Kirghizes, and other hordes, koumiss, in its ardent state, is known by the general term, " Arrack or Rak." Klaproth says, that the Ossetians, (anciently Alans,) a Caucasian people, applied the word " Arak" to denote all distilled liquorsf a decided confirmation of the foregoing observations and opinions.

”

Regardless of the exact origin, arrack has come to symbolize a multitude of largely unrelated, distilled alcohols produced throughout Asia and the eastern Mediterranean. This is largely due to the proliferation of distillation knowledge throughout the Middle East during the 14th century. Each country named their own alcohol by using various Latin alphabet forms of the same word which was synonymous with distillation at the time (arak, araka, araki, ariki, arrack, arack, raki, raque, racque, rac, rak, araka).

Coconut arrack

Milky sap is taken from the flowers of coconut palm trees before the flowers bloom. The sap quickly ferments to become a mildly alcoholic drink called "tuak", "toddy" or "palm wine", which is then distilled in vats made of wood (usually halmilla or teak). The end product is a spirit whose taste is usually described as "somewhere between whisky and rum". It is generally distilled to between 33% and 50% alcohol by volume (66 to 100 proof). Coconut arrack is traditionally consumed by itself or with ginger beer, a popular soda in Sri Lanka. Arrack also may be mixed in cocktails as a substitute for the required portions of either rum or whiskey. Arrack is often combined with popular mixers such as cola, soda water, and lime juice.

Arrack in different countries

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is the world's largest producer of coconut arrack.

Other than water, the entire manufacturing process revolves around the fermentation and distillation of a single ingredient -- the sap of unopened flowers from a coconut palm (Cocos Nucifera). Each morning at dawn, men known as toddy tappers move among the tops of coconut trees using connecting ropes not unlike tightropes. A single tree may contribute up to 2 liters per day.

Due to its concentrated sugar and yeast content, the captured liquid naturally and immediately ferments into a mildly alcoholic drink called "toddy", "tuak", or occasionally known as "palm wine". Within 3-4 hours after collection, the toddy is poured into large wooden vats, called "wash backs", made from the wood of Teak or Halmilla trees. The natural fermentation process is allowed to continue in the wash backs until the alcohol content reaches 5-7% and deemed ready for distillation.

Distillation is generally a two-step process involving either pot stills, continuous stills, or a combination of both. The entire distillation process is completed within 24 hours. The first distillation step results in something known as low wine, a liquid with an alcohol content between 20 to 40%. A second step results in the final distillate with an alcohol content of 60 to 90%. Various blends of coconut arrack diverge in processing yet the extracted spirit may also be sold raw, repeatedly distilled or filtered, or transferred back into Halmilla vats for maturing up to 15 years depending on flavor, color and fragrance requirements.

Premium blends of arrack add no other ingredients, while the inexpensive and common blends are mixed with neutral spirits before bottling. Most people describe the taste as resembling "…a blend between whiskey and rum", similar, but distinctively different at the same time.

Production types

According to the Alcohol and Drug information Centre's 2008 report on alcohol in Sri Lanka, there are several types of arrack:

Special arrack is the highest produced kind nearly doubling in production between 2002 and 2007. Molasses arrack is the least produced kind and considered the common kind. Nevertheless, as a whole, arrack is the most popular local alcoholic beverage consumed in Sri Lanka and produced as a wide variety of brands that fit into the following three categories:

• Premium Aged: After distillation, aged in Halmilla vats for up to 15 years to mature and mellow the raw spirit before blending. Premium brands include VSOA, VX, Old Reserve and Extra Special.
• Premium Clear: Generally not aged, but often distilled and/or filtered multiple times to soften the taste of the raw spirit. Premium clear brands include Double Distilled and Blue Label.
• Common: Blended with other alcohols produced from molasses or mixed with neutral spirits as filler.

Producers

Sri Lanka's largest manufacturers, listed in order based on their 2007 annual production of Arrack, are:

• DCSL (Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka), 37.25 million litres
• IDL (International Distilleries Ltd), 3.97 million litres
• Rockland, 2.18 million litres
• Mendis, 0.86 million litres

Sri Lankan arrack was recently launched in the UK and will be imported to the US for an American launch.

A bubblegum-flavored lambanog

Indonesia

Batavia Arrack is distilled in Indonesia. It is the "rum" of Indonesia, because, like rum, it is distilled from sugar cane. It is a pot still distillation, a type of still which was influenced by the Chinese, who brought the distillation process to Indonesia. To start the fermentation, local fermented red rice is combined with local yeast to give a unique flavor and smell of the distillate. It is distilled to approx. 70% alc. vol. Like rum, Batavia Arrack is often a blend of different original parcels.

Batavia Arrack is used as a component in liqueurs and punsch, and also in the confectionery and flavor industries. It is said to enhance the flavor when used as a component in other products, as in the herb and bitter liqueurs. Arrack is often created as a form of moonshine in Indonesia.

There have been some reports of methanol-tainted arrack (sometimes labelled Arak) which have resulted in deaths in Indonesia.

Philippines

Lambanog is distilled in the Philippines, commonly described as coconut wine or coconut vodka. The drink is distilled from the sap of the unopened coconut flower and is particularly potent, having a typical alcohol content of 80 to 90 proof after a single distillation, but may go as high as 166 proof after the second distillation. As with coconut arrack, the process begins with the sap from the flower of the coconut palm trees. The sap is harvested into bamboo receptacles similar to rubber tree tapping. The collected sap is then put through a cooking or fermentation process to produce a coconut toddy called "tuba" which can then be distilled to produce Lambanog. Until recent years, Lambanog was considered a local drink comparable to moonshine or other home-brewed alcoholic beverages due to its long history as a cottage industry product.

Lambanog has recently been marketed in several flavors such as mango, blueberry, bubblegum, and cinnamon among others in an effort to appeal to all age groups.

Finland

Cloetta Polly 'Original' and 'Milkchoco' chocolates contain "a taste of arrack".

Sweden

A popular beverage in Sweden based on Arrack is 'Punsch' often consumed during the winter month or drizzled on top of ice cream.

See also

• Arak
• Fenny (Urrack)
• Punsch