Gantous & Abou Raad Arak
Gantous & Abou Raad Arak is Lebanon's classic anise spirit from Zahle — 50% ABV (100 proof), 750mL, triple-distilled from fermented white grapes with aniseed and water, and nothing else. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 50% (100 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Style: Arak — grape spirit with aniseed
- Ingredients: Fermented white grapes, aniseed, water — three ingredients
- Distillation: Triple-distilled; rested before bottling
- Origin: Zahle, Lebanon (Solifed; Gantous & Abou Raad, roots 1893)
Zahle's Arak, Three Distillations Deep
The Ghantous family began making arak in Zahle in 1893, and in 1946 the Ghantous and Abou Raad families joined their names to the bottle — a partnership that made this, by longstanding repute, Lebanon's best-selling arak for decades, with a Gold Medal at the 1981 Leipzig Fair along the way. The recipe refuses complication: white grapes fermented, distilled three times with aniseed, rested, bottled at a full 100 proof. Arak is the Levant's table spirit, built for long lunches and mezze, and this is its reference bottling. Find it among the anise pours in our liqueurs collection, or browse the producer on the Gantous & Abou Raad vendor page.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Clean, bright anise and licorice. Palate: Smooth for its strength — sweet anise over a clean grape-spirit base. Finish: Long liquorice warmth, drying at the end.
How to Enjoy
The traditional serve is the ritual: one part arak to two parts cold water — watch it louche milky white as the anise oils cloud — then ice, always after the water, never before. Serve with mezze and take your time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does arak turn cloudy with water? The anise oils are soluble in strong spirit but not in water; diluting drops the proof and the oils come out of solution as a milky emulsion — the louche, called the "lion's milk" across the Levant.
What is arak made from? Here, three things only: fermented white grapes, aniseed and water, triple-distilled in Zahle, Lebanon — no added sugar, no other flavouring.
How strong is it? 50% ABV (100 proof) in the bottle — which is why the traditional serve dilutes it roughly one-to-two with water before ice.
Lebanon's table spirit, Zahle distilled — order Gantous & Abou Raad Arak online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.