arrack

Noun

arrack (countable and uncountable, plural arracks)

1. An alcoholic drink distilled from coconut palm flowers in South Asia.
   • From hence we firſt ſailed to Achin, in the iſland of Sumatra, and then to Siam, where we bartered our wares for ſome arrack and opium, the laſt of which bore a great price among the Chineſe:[…]1777, [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 7th edition, London: […] S. Crowder, […]; J. Sewell, […]; W. Johnston, […]; and B. Law, […], →OCLC, page 277
   • […] the cocoa-nut tree yields a pure draught from a dry and barren land; a cup of water to the temperate and thirsty traveler; a cup of cream from the pressed kernel; a cup of refreshing and sparkling toddy to the early riser; a cup of arrack to the hardened spirit-drinker, and a cup of oil, by the...1873 [1855], Samuel White Baker, Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon, J. B. Lippincott & Co., pages 272–273

   Synonyms:

   palm arrack

2. An alcoholic drink made from sugar cane and fermented red rice in Indonesia.
   • Like rum, proper Batavia arrack from Indonesia, also known as arak or rack, is distilled from sugarcane. Unlike rum, it has a healthy dose of red rice added to the mash.2015, Matthew Rowley, Lost Recipes of Prohibition: Notes from a Bootlegger's Manual, The Countryman Press, →ISBN
   • Today, arrack is still produced and consumed in parts of Indonesia. It has a particular important position among the Hindus in Bali and Lombok, who use it in ritual and sometimes also in the non-ritual, secular context.2021, Jiří Jákl, Alcohol in Early Java: Its Social and Cultural Significance, BRILL, →ISBN, page 109

   Synonyms:

   Batavia arrack