Massaya Arak

Sometimes there's more to a bottle than the spirit inside. Sometimes it's a passport. You can't always zip off to another time zone, but you can slip into another culture for a night, at the table. -Roast a leg of lamb, make a spread of mezze--hummus, babaganoush, tabouli. Feast on the flavors of the eastern Mediterranean and open up a bottle of the region's traditional drink. Like this top-notch arak from El Massaya, a winery founded by Sami and Ramzi Ghosn in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Triple distilled using native Obeidi grapes and flavored using organic aniseed, the spirit is then aged in clay amphorae for two years before bottling, unfiltered. No sweeteners are added. It's just the pure expression of two ingredients. Dilute with water and sip throughout the meal. It's the perfect match for the varied bold flavors. You'll be transported.