Arrack - Arrack (English spelling)

A general term for distilled alcoholic beverages made in a wide area from India to Southeast Asia. Arak means sweat in Arabic, and the appearance of condensed steam dripping from a still is likened to sweat. It is distilled using a lambiki (Arabic for alembic), a still said to have originated in Egypt, and is made by traditional methods. It is said that this distillation technique was introduced to Asia along with the name. The ingredients, manufacturing method, and common name vary from country to country. One method is to distill palm wine made by fermenting the sap of palm trees called tuba or toddy, and in Luzon (the Philippines) it is called lampak. Another method is to add toddy to rice and molasses, ferment, and distill. Nepal's lokki is a type of alcoholic beverage that follows the same method, and is made by distilling "chan", which is made by saccharifying and fermenting finger millet with morcha (malt made from rice or finger millet). Thai lao long is made mainly from rice, and is made by saccharifying, fermenting, and distilling it with lukpan, a type of rice cake malt. In China, a book from the Yuan Dynasty (14th century) recorded an alembic, a distiller for the southern barbarian alcoholic drink "Ariki," and it spread to China as the Chinese white wine "paijiu." It was brought to Japan as the southern barbarian alcoholic drink "araki" through trade between the East and the West.

[Yuichi Akiyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

インドから東南アジアの広範な地域でつくられる蒸留酒の総称。アラックはアラビア語で汗を意味し、蒸留機から蒸気が凝縮して滴るさまを汗に例えたもので、蒸留は、エジプトに発するといわれる蒸留機ランビキ（アラビア語でアランビック）を用い、伝来の方法によってつくられる。この蒸留技術が名前とともにアジアのほうに伝わったとされている。国によって原料、製造法や通称も異なる。ツバとかトデイというヤシの樹液を発酵させたやし酒を蒸留してつくる方法があり、ルソン島（フィリピン）ではランパークという。また米、糖蜜(とうみつ)にトデイを加えて発酵、蒸留する方法がある。ネパールのロキシーはこの方法と同じ系統の酒で、シコクビエをモルチャー（米やシコクビエを原料とした麹(こうじ)）で糖化、発酵させた「チャン」を蒸留してつくる。タイのラオ・ロンは米を主体とし、餅(もち)麹のルクパンで糖化、発酵させ、蒸留してつくる。中国では、元時代（14世紀）の書に、南蛮酒「阿里乞(アリキ)」の蒸留機アランビックが記され、中国のパイチウ（白酒）として広がった。わが国には東西交易により、南蛮酒アラキ（亜剌吉）として伝えられた。

［秋山裕一］

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