Is there any difference in taste between raki and ouzo or are they the same thing?

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anlarm

mmmmm just the right time of the year for a glass of ice-cold ouzo/raki for me :)
Let me tell you what I know about them, although I am not a great raki/ouzo fan. My favourite drink is wine of course. I always drink wine with dinner. Scotch whisky (malt) while watching sports on TV.
Anyway, as far as I know both raki and ouzo are made from grapes and anis. The only difference being in the process of production. Turks had to swallow the rubbish produced by Tekel for more than half a century. Nowadays, raki is produced by private companies and there are many brands available. I haven't had the opportunity to taste all yet. I tried Efe (both blue and green labels). Green Efe is made from fresh grapes and is supposed to be softer in taste. However, I did not notice much difference. Tekirdağ Altın Seri on the other hand is much like ouzo: softer on the palate with a less annoying aroma. I am told that Efe Sarı Zeybek is as good in quality as Tekirdağ Altın Seri. Recently, another company has produced monosepage raki (made from a single grape variety). As soon as they import it to Cyprus I will test it.
The problem with Turkish raki for me is that they are mostly in 35 or 70cl bottles. Since I do not drink much, it takes a long time to finish the bottle. And I don't want to spend so much money just for testing.
During the last 3 years, I have been buying Greek Cypriot and Greek ouzo in small 20cl bottles. I find them smooth and mellow. The presence of anis is less obvious. So it is not as repulsive as raki.
I have also heard that some kind of ouzo are distilled with mastika (sakız) (like the Bulgarian mastika). I like mastika ouzo better, but not the Bulgarian one.
There is also a wrong impression in Turkey that raki is the drink with fish. Wrong! Raki / ouzo should be drunk with meze only. Have your (light) dinner, then prepare some meze and drink it slowly, preferably with some good friends.
When you prepare it, put the bottle in the fridge for about an hour. Add cold water first, then ice cubes. And do not forget to have some Turkish (allaturca) or Rebetiko music with it.

♥ ☼ ♫ Ibrahim ♫ ☼ ♥

I didn't even know there was a difference...Actually I haven't drunk raki for 10 years, because it was a bad memory for me. I swore I would never drink raki again, because in 1997 I got very drunk and sick. They took me to hospital, and I had to stay there 2 days...It was horrible, and I could'nt eat during 3 days... According to me raki, ouzo, french pastis and similar alcohols are dirty and dangerous drinks...

edoardo_visconti

Ouzo is just raki flavoured with anise (glykanisos in greek). this flavoured version derives from the territory of Tirnavos (Thessaly-Greece) but has been spread all over. In Greek villages there's home made raki which is identical with the turkish one, very strong or lighter, depending on the territory and the taste. In Greece there exists the term "raki" (coming from the arab word "arak"), but it's better known as "tsipouro".
Yes, raki (not flavoured) and ouzo are just the same thing....
Week end is ahead, just enjoy both ouzo and raki....

P.S. Rouse and Ovcichka, you can put as many thumbs down as you wish to me and Leonarda.... You're as cheap as everything in Vardarska....

Pinar

Ouzo has a softer taste comparing to raki. Both made of grapes. But if the person is not Greek or Turkish, can hardly tell the difference.

I'm Macedonian!!!

yes, there is!!

Irmak

I think they are the same but I didn't like rakı when I tasted it once (but I think it's normal because I'm just a child) ;-)

*** Murat abi, İpek abla haklı öyle sıyrılmak olmaz, erkek adama yakışmaz :P ;-)

Leonarda

I dont like any of them, but i think ouzo is softer and it doesnt have the strong taste of raki..
But for meze are both delicious(for those who drink them)

pumpkin

They are quite similar, but raki is a bit stronger in taste...

Missy

for me ouzo is softer , but they have similar tastes

rakı fena çarpıyor beni :)

♥♥♥♥♥

They are nearly the same but ouzo has some additional spices in it.One can taste the difference when he or she drinks them one after the other.

ziggy

For me ouzo tastes much better than raki because it has this nice aroma and its sooo "summer by the beach"....And of course it helps that I usually drink it wit ice cubes while in raki you can't do that.

i havent tasted ouzo.. but i know pastis and rakı... they both made me sick all day long :(((... i prefer beer or whisky-coke instead..

DejaVu

I didn`t know but just learned Rakı is softer ;o)

Thanks for the question

♫ELI♫