Every November, families across western Crete gather to distil the year's raki. An invitation to one distillation in the Apokoronas hills.
The invitation comes on a Wednesday afternoon: "We are distilling Saturday. Come at ten." You drive to a village in the Apokoronas hills forty minutes from Chania and follow the smell of warm grape must through narrow stone streets until you find the right courtyard.
The kazani — the copper still — is already hot when you arrive. It is a beautiful object: a rounded copper pot about the size of a large bathtub, connected by a coiled pipe to a barrel of cold water. The setup is essentially unchanged from the 17th century, when Cretan families began distilling the marc left over after winemaking.
The process
The marc has been fermenting in barrels for about a month. It is loaded into the kazani, water is added, and the fire is brought to temperature. The first liquid is discarded — it contains methanol. Then the raki begins. Someone is always watching the temperature. The raki comes out at about 80 proof and is diluted to the traditional 35-40 percent.
The table
By midday, there are twenty people in the courtyard. A long table has appeared with food that has been arriving since morning: cheese, olives, bread, lamb slow-cooking since Thursday. The raki that has been produced that morning is poured into small glasses. It is drunk slowly and continuously for the next eight hours.
How to experience it
Raki distillations happen throughout November and into December across western Crete. They are private events — you need an invitation. The best way to get one is to spend time in a village kafeneion in October. Mention that you have never seen a distillation. Someone will invite you.
Raki distillations are November events. Spend an afternoon in a village kafeneion in October and mention your interest. An invitation will follow. Bring something for the table.