Cretan Hospitality · Pomace Spirit
Raki (Tsikoudia)
Photo: C messier / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Every autumn, Cretan villages fire up small copper stills for weeks-long distilling gatherings called rakokazana, where the first hot drops are tasted straight from the pipe before the batch is even finished.
Raki, also called tsikoudia, is a clear, strong spirit distilled from the leftover skins and stems of pressed grapes, with nothing added — no sugar, no anise, no aging. It's poured as a welcome gesture and sipped alongside meze.
Why it's made this way: Distilling raki is a communal autumn ritual across Crete, and 'Tsikoudia of Crete' is an EU-protected geographical indication restricted to the island, marking it as Crete's own rather than a generic Greek drink.
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