Arrack

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For the Levantine unsweetened distilled spirit, see Arak (drink).
For the date-liquor distilled illegally in Sudan, see Araqi (drink).

Arrack

Two kinds of Arrack from Sri Lanka

Type Alcoholic drink

Country of origin Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia

Alcohol by volume 33–50%

Proof (US) 66–100°

Color golden brown

Ingredients fermented coconut sugar or sugarcane

Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in the Indian

subcontinent and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers
 or sugarcane, and also with grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon the country of
origin. It is sometimes spelled arak,[1] or simply referred to as 'rack or 'rak.[2] It is not to be
confused with the anise-flavored distilled spirit called Arak or Araq.
There are two primary styles of Arrack that are very different from one another: [3] Batavia
Arrack is often clear in color but has a flavor profile more similar to dark rum, with a
distinctive "funk" or "hogo" imparted to it from fermented red rice. Ceylon Arrack, by
contrast, is a more refined and subtle spirit. It has hints of Cognac and rum character
and a wealth of delicate floral notes. Both styles are also made "in house" by local
citizenry and can be more akin to moonshine in their presentation.

Contents

 1History
 2Arrack in different countries
o 2.1India
o 2.2Indonesia (Batavia-Arrack)
o 2.3Philippines
o 2.4Sri Lanka (Ceylon-Arrack)
 2.4.1Production types
 2.4.2Producers
o 2.5St Helena
o 2.6Sweden
 3Etymology
 4See also
 5References
 6External links
 7Cited works

History[edit]
Arrack predates all "New World" spirits, as it is a parent to aguardiente (which was, in
turn, the parent of rum, rhum agricole, and ron).[3] Genoese merchants made the spirit as
a byproduct of their sugar cane production in the Canary Islands. Besides making
sugar, they produced arrack instead of importing it for their growing list of customers.
Other early arrack was distilled from molasses and water, using dried cakes of red rice
and botanicals that contain yeast and other fungi to trigger the fermentation process
(this technique can be traced back thousands of years to China and even predates the
birth of distillation).[3] It is also claimed to have been distilled in India in 800 BC, but
while palm wine and fermented sugar-cane drinks were being made around this time
period not all believe that formal distillation was taking place. [4]
Outside Asia, the spirit was a common ingredient in the proliferation of Indian
alcoholic punch, and was particularly popular in Holland and Sweden. It was first drunk
in the United States prior to prohibition,[5] but is now mostly confused with the more
common and similar spelled anise-flavored spirit arak.
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 its 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).
[6]
 1864 English and Australian Cookery Book described Arrack as "a spirituous liquor
from the East Indies. This term, or its corruption, rack, is applied to any spirituous liquor
in the East. The true arrack is said to be distilled from toddy, the fermented juice of the
coconut flower.It is however, frequently distilled from rice and sugar, fermented with the
cocoa-nut juice."[2]

Arrack in different countries[edit]

India[edit]
Arrack was banned in the states of Kerala in 1996,[7] and Karnataka on 1 July 2007.[8][9]
Batavian arrack factory "Aparak" in 1948

Indonesia (Batavia-Arrack)[edit]
Within Indonesia itself, the term arak is still widely used to describe arrack. Arak (or rice
wine) was a popular alcoholic beverage during the colonial era. [10] It is considered the
"rum" of Indonesia because, like rum, it is distilled from sugarcane. It is a pot
still distillation. 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%
ABV. Like rum, Batavia-arrack is often a blend of different original parcels.
One of the longest established arack companies in Indonesia is the Batavia Arak
Company (Dutch Batavia-Arak Maatschappij), which was already in business by 1872,
became a limited liability company in 1901, and was still operating in the early 1950s.
The Batavia Arak Company also exported arack to the Netherlands and had an office in
Amsterdam. Some of the arrack brand produced by Batavia Arak Company were KWT
(produced in the Bandengan (Kampung Baru) area of old Jakarta) and OGL.[10] Still
commonly available in Northern Europe and Southern Asia, Batavia Arrack can be
difficult to find in the United States. Batavia-Arrack van Oosten is a more recently
available brand.[11]
Batavia-Arrack is said to enhance flavor when used as a component in other products,
such as pastries (like the Scandinavian Runeberg torte or the Dresdner Stollen), or in
the confectionery and flavor industries. It is used in herbal and bitter liqueurs, and as a
component in alcoholic punches (such as punsch, regent punch,[12] royal punch,[13] and
black tea-port milk punch[14]).
Its use in punch was noted by early American bartender Jerry Thomas: "Most of the
arrack imported into this country is distilled from rice, and comes from Batavia. It is but
little used in America, except to flavor punch; the taste of it is very agreeable in this
mixture. Arrack improves very much with age. It is much used in some parts of India,
where it is distilled from toddy, the juice of the coconut tree". [15]
In Indonesia, arrack is often created as a form of moonshine.
Philippines[edit]
Main articles: Tuba (wine), Lambanog, Bahalina, Basi, and Tapuy

Left: bahalina, a Philippine palm wine;

Right: bubblegum-flavored lambanog, a palm liquor

A Filipino term for distilled and undistilled alcoholic drinks in general is alak, derived
from the Arabic word "arrak". The term "arak," though, is specifically used in Ilocano.
Arracks in the Philippines are predominantly not distilled. They can be derived from
palm sap (notably coconut, nipa palm, or kaong palm), sugarcane, or rice. The only
native alcohol that is traditionally distilled is lambanóg, which is made from the sap of
palm flowers. The process begins with the sap from palm flowers. The sap is harvested
into bamboo receptacles similar to rubber tapping, then cooked or fermented to produce
a mildly-alcoholic coconut toddy called tubâ. The tubà, which by itself is also a popular
beverage, is further distilled to produce lambanóg.[16][17][18]
The Italian explorer, Antonio Pigafetta, stated that the arrack that he drank
in Palawan and nearby islands in 1521 was made from distilled rice wine. [19] However, he
was likely referring to pangasi, a rice wine which is not distilled.[18]
Sri Lanka (Ceylon-Arrack)[edit]

"Ceylon Arrack"

Sri Lanka is the largest producer of coconut arrack and up until 1992 the government
played a significant role in its production. [20][21]
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).[22] 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 two litres 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
"palm wine". Within a few hours after collection, the toddy is poured into large wooden
vats, called "wash backs", made from the wood of teak or Berrya cordifolia. The natural
fermentation process is allowed to continue in the washbacks 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 first step results in "low wine", a liquid with an alcohol
content between 20 and 40%.[23] The second step results in the final distillate with an
alcohol content of 60 to 90%. It is generally distilled to between 33% and 50% alcohol
by volume (ABV) or 66 to 100 proof. The entire distillation process is completed within
24 hours. 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.
Coconut arrack is traditionally consumed by itself or with ginger beer, a popular soda in
Sri Lanka. It 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.
Production types[edit]
According to the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre's 2008 report on alcohol in Sri
Lanka, the types of arrack are:[24]

 Special arrack, which is produced in the highest volume, nearly doubling in

production between 2002 and 2007.
 Molasses arrack is the least-processed kind and considered the common kind.
[24]
 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, is aged in halmilla vats for up to 15 years to
mature and mellow the raw spirit before blending. Premium brands include Ceylon
Arrack, VSOA, VX, Vat9, Old Reserve and Extra Special.
 Premium clear is generally not aged, but often distilled and/or filtered multiple
times to soften its taste. Premium clear brands include Double Distilled and Blue
Label.
 Common is blended with other alcohols produced from molasses or mixed with
neutral spirits as filler.
Producers[edit]
Sri Lanka's largest manufacturers, listed in order based on their 2007 annual production
of arrack,[24] are:

 DCSL (Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka), 37.25 million litres

 IDL (International Distilleries Ltd), 3.97 million litres
 Rockland Distilleries (Pvt) Ltd, 2.18 million litres
 Mendis, 0.86 million litres
Ceylon Arrack, a brand of Sri Lankan coconut arrack, was recently launched in the UK
in 2010. It is also available in France and Germany. [25] White Lion VSOA entered the
American market soon after.[26]
Coconut arrack for export

St Helena[edit]
Historically Arrack has been a common beverage on the island of St Helena, distilled
from potatoes.[27] This is likely due to influences of the East India Company, which
controlled St Helena and used it as a halfway point between India and England. [28]
Sweden[edit]
In Sweden and Finland, batavia-arrack has historically been mixed with other
ingredients in order to make Swedish punsch (now available in prepackaged bottles).
The alcohol content is normally not over 25%, although it has a high sugar content of
nearly 30%. The original recipe was a mixture of arrack with water, sugar, lemon, and
tea and/or spices (chiefly nutmeg).[3] Today punsch is mostly drunk warm as an
accompaniment to yellow split pea soup, although it is also used as a flavouring in
several types pastries and sweets as well. The name arrak is still retained for some
pastries, for example arraksboll, whereas punsch is used for things like punschrulle.

Etymology[edit]
The word derived from the Arabic word arak (‫عرق‬, arq), meaning 'distillate'. In the Middle
East and Near East, the term arak is usually used for liquor distilled from grapes and
flavored with anise.
Unlike arak, the word arrack has been considered by some experts to be derived
from areca nut, a palm seed originating in India from the areca tree and used as the
basis for many varieties of arrack. In 1838, Samuel Morewood's work on the histories of
liquors was published. On the topic of arrack, he said:
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 Kaempfer calls it, 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 connections 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
Sanskrit, 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 Sanskrit, in which the word areca is found, it is used by
the Brahmins in writing Sanskrit, 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 liquors, a decided confirmation of the foregoing observations and
opinions.[29]