Raki Night

Raki is a sweetened, often anise-flavored, alcoholic drink that is popular in Albania, Turkic countries, Turkey, the Greek Islands and in the Balkan countries as an apéritif.

In Turkey, rakı is the national drink and is traditionally consumed with chilled water on the side or partly mixed with chilled water.  Dilution with water causes rakı to turn a milky-white color.

This phenomenon has resulted in the drink being popularly referred to aslan sütü ('lion's milk') Since aslan ('lion') is a Turkish colloquial metaphor for a strong, courageous man, this gives the term a meaning close to 'the milk for the strong'.