The social drinker

Drinking a glass of a rather average Egyptian red wine in Cairo last week, and a much better glass of Lebanese red in Beirut the following evening, I was reminded that drinkers everywhere owe Arab culture a debt of gratitude. The Arabs invented spirits, and it was their skill as traders which spread that wonderful invention around the world.

We are so much in their debt that even the word ‘alcohol’ itself comes from the Arabic al-kohl. We don’t quite know where or when, but sometime before his death in 815, the poet Abu Nuwas was writing poems to celebrate a Baghdad pub crawl, noting that he had been drinking spirits that were “as hot between the ribs as a firebrand”.

Like every great people, the Arabs have developed a spirit that somehow encapsulates their genius; an equivalent to whiskey, brandy or schnapps. In the Arab world it is arak, an aniseed-infused liquor that tastes not unlike a sambuca or pastis, although both the ingredients and distillation process are different.

Arak has only two ingredients: grapes and the aniseed that can be found all over the Mediterranean. Diluted with two parts water, it is drunk during the meal, rather than beforehand or afterwards like its European cousins. This makes a lot of sense: arak clears the palate, which makes it the perfect accompaniment to mezze — the small, tasty, tapas-like snacks such as olives, vine leaves, goat’s cheese, marinated livers and hummus, found across the Middle East.

Lebanese wine is your best bet with such food, but Malbec is a good standby. However, those who want a completely authentic experience should track down a good Lebanese arak from a brand such as Ksara or Fakhra, and sip slowly as they enjoy the food and drink of one of the oldest and most neglected cultures in the world.