What does arrack mean?
Arrack is a strong distilled spirit produced across South and Southeast Asia, with no single fixed recipe: depending on the country and tradition it may be distilled from fermented coconut-palm sap, sugarcane molasses, rice, or fruit. Sri Lanka's coconut arrack is perhaps the best-known style today, aged in wood and enjoyed both neat and in cocktails, while in parts of India and Indonesia the name has long been attached to humbler, sometimes illicit, small-scale distillates. The English word arrived in the seventeenth century via trade with the East Indies, borrowed ultimately from an Arabic root meaning 'to sweat', reflecting the old image of spirit rising as sweat from the fermenting wash. Because it names a category rather than a specific drink, arrack carries connotations ranging from exotic craft heritage to rough colonial-era tavern drinking, and it appears most often in historical writing, travel literature, and discussions of regional spirits.
nounA strong distilled alcoholic spirit made in South and Southeast Asia, traditionally from fermented coconut-palm sap, sugarcane molasses, rice, or other local ingredients.
- A strong distilled liquor of South and Southeast Asia, made from coconut-palm sap, sugarcane molasses, or rice.
"The tavern keeper poured a measure of arrack for each of the sailors."
"Coconut arrack remains one of Sri Lanka's most popular spirits, often served neat or with ginger beer."
"In colonial Batavia, traders paid for spices partly in casks of arrack."
Usually uncountable when referring to the drink generally; the plural appears mainly when referring to different varieties or individual bottles.
"The shop stocks arracks from several Indonesian islands."
The word 'arrack' comes from the Arabic for 'sweat' — because distillation was imagined as the drink sweating out of the ferment.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of arrack
English borrowed 'arrack' in the early seventeenth century from Dutch and Portuguese traders' renderings of terms used around the Indian Ocean, ultimately tracing back through Arabic ʿaraq, meaning 'sweat' or 'distilled liquor'. The same Arabic root gives the Middle Eastern anise spirit 'arak', a close cousin in both name and derivation though a different drink. The word entered English during the era of East India Company trade, when arrack was a staple commodity in ports from Batavia to Colombo.
How arrack is actually used
The term covers a range of traditional Asian spirits rather than one standardized product; quality varies widely, from artisanal Ceylon coconut arrack to rough illicit moonshine. The spelling 'arak' is preferred for the distinct Middle Eastern anise spirit.
Easily confused with arrack
Arak is a Middle Eastern anise-flavoured spirit distilled from grapes, whereas arrack refers to Asian spirits made from palm sap, molasses, or rice.