There’s a one-litre bottle of raki in my cupboard. It’s been there for at least three years now, and I never even considered opening it. Actually, I have now decided to keep it to get rich.
I love raki, the Turkish national aniseed-flavoured drink. But raki is not like wine or whisky, drinks that you just drink at night alone or with friends. Raki, my dear readers, needs a table. That means: you drink it with mezeler (small starters) and with fish. So when I drink raki, it’s always in a restaurant, with nice people and a good Istanbul night life atmosphere around me. This bottle at home will never be opened.
A pity? Absolutely not! The government just decided to raise the tax on alcohol , and it’s not the first time since the AKP has been in power. They don’t like alcohol, and make it more and more expensive, just like tobacco – as if the two are equally harmful. A litre bottle of raki now costs around 50 lira (25 euros). I don’t remember how much the bottle was when I bought it, but definitely a whole lot less.
There are elections in Turkey this year, and there is a good chance the AKP will stay in power in their own right. Which means in the coming years the price of raki will go up and up again and again. This bottle in my cupboard will turn out to be a great investment.