Oghi (sometimes oghee,
Armenian: օղիòġi; colloquially aragh) is an
Armenianspirit distilled from fruits or berries. It is widely produced as
moonshine from home-grown garden fruits all across Armenia, where it is served as a popular welcome drink to guests and is routinely drunk during meals.[1] Arguably, Armenian oghi is not "vodka" at all (see
Vodka war) and merely became thought of as such during the Soviet era in Armenia.
Mulberry oghi is commercially produced and exported under the brand name Artsakh by the Artsakh-Alco Brandy Company in
Askeran District in the
Republic of Artsakh.[2][3]
Varieties
Tuti oghi – mulberry oghi (commercial brand name Artsakh, from Nagorno-Karabakh)
In the
Armenian Diaspora, oghi refers to the aniseed-flavored distilled alcoholic drink called
arak in the
Middle East,
rakı in Turkey, or
ouzo in
Greece.[4][5] In the Prohibition-Era United States, Armenians produced bootleg Oghi from raisins and flavored it with anise. In the old country of
Western Armenia, the oghi was often made from grape
pomace, or from
mulberries, and was sometimes flavored with
anise,
mastic, or even
cardamom or orange peel, as well as other herbs or spices. In the region of
Kharpert as well as nearby Chnkoosh, oghi was usually made from mulberries.
See also
Chacha, a
Georgian pomace brandy, sometimes called "Georgian vodka"
Pálinka, a
Hungarian distilled liquor also derived from fruits or nuts