阿拉伯酒介绍：大气雄烈的“狮子奶”----亚力酒MILK OF LIONS： ARAK
2006-12-20 06:10阅读：
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阿拉伯有酒文化吗？我一直在问自己。走来走去，好像感觉文化总是有的，酒也是有的，就是酒文化似乎不是怎么丰富。我记得小时候经常为葡萄美酒夜光杯，欲饮琵琶马上催的境界所感动，以为胡人好饮，必有佳酿名篇传世，初到中东，颇有期盼。然遍寻各地，仿佛国人饮白干烈酒，抑或茅台夜郎，抑或孔府剑南，俄罗斯人饮伏特加，德国人饮啤酒，法国人饮葡萄酒，独不见阿拉伯人有什么特色，葡萄酒，本来感觉应该是阿拉伯人的特色，却被欧美风光占尽，而在阿拉伯国家，法国葡萄酒也备受推崇，似乎不能算阿拉伯的酒。
那么阿拉伯就没有特色的酒了么？
有。人称“狮子奶”的亚力酒，叫做arak的，不知道为什么金山词霸翻译成亚力酒。此酒颇有特色，在中东地区包括伊朗土耳其广泛流行，被约旦，黎巴嫩，叙利亚称为国酒。我很喜欢其被称为“狮子奶”，让人感觉很有气势，很大气雄烈。狮子奶，顾名思义，这个酒是属于烈酒类，有着自己最为独特的三个特点，一是酒烈，大约最少都在70度以上，喝的时候必须加水或者冰稀释，多少随自己，但是不加水或者
冰，就是外行，而且体会不到后面为什么叫狮子奶。
二是味冲，有一股浓浓的茴香味道。亚力酒我觉得应该叫茴香酒，因为不加茴香就不叫亚力酒，是酿酒时候用葡萄发酵后加入茴香而成，有一股很浓的茴香味道，据说茴香补肾壮阳，阿拉伯人都讨四个老婆，估计亚力酒是他们的最爱也未尝不可。
三是变色，不是我们饮而作色，而是本来这个酒是晶莹剔透，毫无颜色，而加入水或者冰后，则顿作乳白色，泡沫急翻，如同巫师手中的神盏，加上酒烈味冲，真如活脱脱的狮子奶，大约是狮子奶就是这个样子吧。
从阿拉伯人的这个想法，也可以看出，阿拉伯人彪悍尚武的性格。而亚力酒，之所以被称为狮子奶，还有一个原因就是，这种酒很烈，加上发酵特殊，古代不时会有人喝酒而毙命，而现在随着酿酒技术，则没有听到谁喝这个酒出问题了。这种酒，也随着酿酒技术的传播，后来传到东欧和法国西班牙一代，整个地中海沿岸地区都有踪迹。
亚力酒的喝法，据说是要和专门配菜一起吃得，一个两个小菜可以下酒，如一碟茴香豆：），当然人家是专门的配菜，讲究的是不会上茴香豆的，排场的则可以上百小碟子，大有满汉全席的味道。而这个下酒的菜，则是喝亚力酒的高潮，国内有无酒不成席的说法，而喝亚力酒，本身就要有这种菜席，确实可见其在传统中东酒类中的品味。饮狮子奶，不讲究点行吗？呵呵。
而亚力酒的做法，有从椰枣中作的，由从土豆中作的，而很多则是从葡萄中制作的，黎巴嫩我知道大部分是用葡萄作的。这种酒的做法很特别，以手工自己酿造的为佳，很多人会自己酿造，然后送给你品尝，味道各异，但是都有一股茴香味，都具备酒烈味冲变色的特点。
据说我们自己也可以制作，我也准备去给大家打听打听，怎么制作，这样您自己也可以制作这种大气雄烈的狮子奶了，呵呵，如果大家有兴趣，请跟贴鼓励阿。
先给大家贴个图片，让大家看看这种酒。
Called by the Arabs of the Middle East, ‘the milk of lions’, arak,
also known as arack and arraki, is the national alcoholic drink of
Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It is given this nick-name because of
its highly potent and lethal character. An aniseed-flavoured
colourless spirit which turns to a milky-white liquid after water
and/or ice are added, it is much sought after in the Middle Eastern
lands by those who indulge in intoxicating drinks. Usually drank
before it matures, it is a fiery rough liquor made for tough
palates.
Never drank by itself, arak is always served with mezza (titbits of
food) which could include up to a hundred dishes. A dinner
invitation to friends and colleagues who savour alcoholic drinks
always begins with this gourmet ritual. After a few ounces of arak
and the consuming of a large amount of mezza, the guests are
usually sated. When the main course of the meal is served, the food
is hardly touched. Sipping on arak while consuming titbits of
appetizers is always thought of as the highlight of the meal.
Various forms of arak, which in Arabic means both sweat and juice,
are popular in all the countries edging the Mediterranean and parts
of the Far East. In the greater Syria area, it is distilled from
fermented grape juice or, at times, sugar and is considered by the
inhabitants to be greatly superior to similar hard liquors in other
countries. The same spirit in the
Balkans and Turkey, called raki - another form of the word arak -
is made from a variety of products like grain, molasses, plums and
potatoes. Other similar drinks are the arak of Iraq - made from
fermented date juice, the zibib of Egypt - a peasant made drink and
Greek ouzo - the most popular aperitif in that country. Further
west, along the northern shores of the
Mediterranean, the Italian anesone, French pastis and Spanish oj閚,
served as aperitifs or refreshers, are all sweeter versions of
arak. Also, in the Far East, a comparable liquor known as arrack,
distilled from palm sap or rice, is very popular. （thanks to the
阿author of this great English Article）
