So after an ill-fated happy hour at Ruloff's my senior year (that damn spinner kept landing on $1 Sambuca shots…it was only a matter of time before I would be seduced by the comfort of the bathroom floor and the oh-so-lovely Ruloff's toilet) and a raki incident in New York City which ended with me serenading my fellow passengers on the 4 train, anise-flavored liquors have pretty much been off-limits to me. So while waiting in line at the fabulous traiteur-cum-restaurant Le Feyrouz, a Lebanese restaurant here in Paris, I approached the cloudy shot glasses that kept be handed to me by the owner with care. You see, there was a long line and to keep everyone content they kept putting out plates of appetizers and serving this cloudy, raki like liquor.

Upon further research, I discovered that arak is actually a brandy fabricated from sugar cane that is then mixed with anise and drunk with water. It spread through Europe (think raki, ouzo, grappa, etc.) in the millenia that followed. The history of sugar cane distillation is pretty fascinating (wine nerd, what??): the Egyptians used it to cure certain maladies and then in the middle ages the alchemists adopted it, calling it the "water of life" or "eau de vie" and it was recommended as an elixir for longevity. For you hip drinkers out there, the liquor used in caipirinhas is also derived from sugar cane.

BUT what I think is the best find of all of this is that in Brazil there is actually a museum dedicated to "Sugar Cane Brandy." Here's a quote from their website: The sugar cane brandy, made from the traditional sugar cane is an important step in the evolution of Brazil as a great nation. Hmm, I think more accurately this statement should read, "The sugar cane brandy, made from the traditional sugar cane, is a key reason why we are unable to fight our way out of 'developing nation' status." But hey, they sure know how to party!

Ok, I have no idea how I arrived in Brazil from Lebanon, so I am going to go to bed now. It was a tiring trip…