| Type | Distilled alcoholic spirit |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Sudan |
| Region of origin | Sudan and South Sudan |
| Introduced | Medieval |
| Alcohol by volume | Variable, 30–80% |
| Proof (US) | 60–160° |
| Color | clear |
| Ingredients | dates, water, yeast |
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Araqi (Arabic: عرقي, romanized: ʿaraqī; also araki, aragy)[1] is a date-liquor distilled in Sudan. The 1983 introduction of sharia in Sudan prevented licit sales of alcohol, but a black market exists to meet local demand. The drink is made by mixing dates with water and yeast, fermenting the mix, and then distilling it. It is usually drunk neat.[2]
During the war in Darfur, a number of southern Sudanese women came to the north as refugees, and found that some of the only professions available to them were prostitution or brewing araqi, the latter being a skill some already had, with a reliable market demand. A 2000 UN report noted that 80% of the women in Khartoum's women's prison were there on charges of prostitution or brewing araqi.[3]
Araqi is also popular in South Sudan, which split from Sudan in 2011 and where alcohol is legal.[4]
Home distilling can lead to methanol poisoning; 10 died and several others were blinded by a batch of incorrectly distilled araqi in East Darfur in 2017.[5]
In 2020, a new law permitted alcohol sales to non-Muslims in Sudan.[6]
- ^ "After Decades of Civil War, Can Sudan Survive Peace?". WRMEA.
- ^ "Sudan's date-gin brewers thrive despite Sharia". BBC News. 2010-04-29.
- ^ Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf (1 August 2009). Transforming Displaced Women in Sudan: Politics and the Body in a Squatter Settlement. University of Chicago Press. pp. 73–. ISBN 978-0-226-00201-9.
- ^ ""Wine/Gin" Making in the Sudan". March 28, 2018.
- ^ "Deadly drink kills at least ten, blinds two in East Darfur". Radio Dabanga. 15 December 2017.
- ^ "Sudan legalises alcohol for non-Muslims for first time in 40 years". The Irish Times.