Oghi (beverage)
Oghi (sometimes oghee, Armenian: օղի òġi) is an Armenian spirit distilled from fruits or berries. Oghi, a clear fruit vodka, is also referred to as aragh, which is the generic Armenian word for vodka of all kinds.[1] It is widely produced as moonshine from home-grown garden fruits all across Armenia, where it is served as a popular welcome drink to guests and is routinely drunk during meals.[2]
Mulberry oghi is commercially produced and exported under the brand name Artsakh by the Artsakh-Alco Brandy Company in Askeran District in Nagorno-Karabakh.[3][4]
Contents |
Varieties [edit]
- Tuti oghi – mulberry oghi (commercial brand name Artsakh, from Nagorno-Karabakh)
- Honi oghi – from hon, a small red berry (cornelian cherry)
- Dzirani oghi – from apricots
- Tandzi oghi – from pears
- Khaghoghi oghi – from grapes
- Salori oghi – from plums
- Moshi oghi – from blackberry
- Tzi oghi – from figs
- Khundzori oghi – from apples
Oghi in the Armenian Diaspora [edit]
In the Armenian Diaspora, where homemade fruit vodka is no longer common, oghi refers to the aniseed-flavored distilled alcoholic drink called arak in the Middle East, raki in Turkey, or ouzo in Greece.[5][6] In Armenia, however, aniseed-flavored spirit is virtually unknown.[citation needed]. Previously, Western Armenians produced bootleg Oghi from raisins and flavored it with anise. In the old country (pre 1915 Eastern Turkey), the oghi was made from other fruits as well, including mulberries.
See also [edit]
- Alcoholic beverages
- Flavoured liquor, which includes flavoured vodkas
- Vodka infusion
- Soju, a Korean distilled beverage, sometimes called "Korean vodka"
- Shōchū, sometimes called "Japanese vodka"
- Baijiu, a Chinese distilled liquor sometimes called "Chinese vodka"
- Vodka war
References [edit]
- ^ Aragh, Armenian moonshine
- ^ Oghi, an Armenian fruit vodka
- ^ Artsakh mulberry vodka
- ^ Artsakh-Alco Brandy Company
- ^ Western Armenian Dictionary and Phrasebook, by Nicholas Awde and Vazken-Khatchig Davidian, Hippocrene Books, 2006, p. 131; ISBN 0-7818-1048-5, ISBN 978-0-7818-1048-7
- ^ The Heritage of Armenian Literature, Vol. III, p. 815, by Agop Jack Hacikyan, Gabriel Basmajian, Edward S. Franchuk, Nourhan Ouzounian, Wayne State University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8143-3221-8
