Arak Brun is a premium Lebanese arak produced by Domaine des Tourelles in the renowned Bekaa Valley.
The recipe was created by the French Brun family, who gave it their name in the early 20th century.
Pierre Brun, the third and last generation of the founders, perfected it and made it one of the most popular spirits of Lebanon.
In the year 2000, Elie F. Issa and Nayla Kanaan Issa-el-Khoury took over the Property and vowed to build on its rich legacy.
ARAK BRUN
Arak Brun is a delightful drink that will perfectly match
all your Mediterranean dishes and much more. Poured with many cocktails of your choice, it will become your favorite aperitif on all occasions.
The classic way to pour neat and then to add ice-cold water.
ARAK BRUN 5YO
Elie created the Special Reserve, the first ever arak to be aged for 5 years in clay jars, to deliver an extra premium and uniquely smooth taste. This prestigious limited edition will perfectly match all the Mediterranean dishes, and can also top many bar cocktails with its fresh twist.
ARAK BRUN 10YO
Arak Brun 10 Years is the gift of more than a century of distillation
expertise and mastery. This spirit's grape alcohol originates from very old Obeidi vines grown in terraces, a native grape to Lebanon. Its main flavor is anise, the famous
Mediterranean herb whose crops are planted and harvested by the Property to
guarantee the best quality and pureness of its oils. It undergoes an
extraordinary 10-year aging journey in old Lebanese clay jars to guarantee its very
special smooth and refine taste.
THE MAIN INGREDIENT BEHIND ARAK BRUN'S UNIQUE FLAVOR
ANISE
Anise is a splendid spice rich in aromas and native to some Eastern Mediterranean terroirs.
It is the main ingredient behind arak's unique flavor and white cloud color when mixed with water.
Its plantation in our country was extremely rare not to say inexistant despite its wide usage in the arak production, as it was mainly sourced from Syria and other regional terroirs.
Several years ago, Domaine des Tourelles undertook the challenging mission of bringing back this plant to one of its original homelands, Lebanon!
The first pioneering crops scored an unprecedented success, pushing the Property to quickly expand the plantation to large acres mainly located in Bekaa Valley's Deir el-Ahmar and Tal Dnoub regions.
Today, Arak Brun is proudly both the biggest producer and consumer of anise in Lebanon, securing most of its production needs from its own crops and contributing to a better rural environment with the creation of new jobs for farmers and a sustainable agricultural alternative to illegal plantations that used to be widespread in these areas of the Bekaa Valley.
DISTILLATION
Spirit production relies primarily on the distillation process.
Arak Brun distillery includes a large series of centuries-old copper alembics with relatively small pots. The smaller the tank the better it is, for it guarantees the much valued homemade quality level under the full control of the producer. These alembics operate relentlessly for 18 hours per day and 320 days per year to deliver the large volumes needed by the market.
Once the alcohol is heated up and evaporates in the still, its condensation is initiated by the naturally cold water flowing all over the tubes after being pumped from the nearby Jdita river.
This distillation process is repeated three times (hence, the famous Arabic designation مثلث) where anise is added in the last stage. The recipe entails that we remove every time the heads and tails of the liquid in order to only keep the hearts which represent the purest and best part that will become the final arak.
CLAY JARS & ARAK AGING
Since the old times, various civilizations have used clay jars to stock and age different types of alcohols like wines and spirits.
It is no exception to the arak, for clay jars play a key role in perfecting it. Clay is a natural element that can breathe thanks to its slightly porous surface, which allows a continuous and soft interaction with the air and makes therefore the arak evolve in smoothness, elegance, and roundness. The longer the aging the smoother the taste.
In Lebanon, the crafting of clay jars goes back to the Phoenician times thousands of years ago. A large number of Phoenician pottery artifacts were discovered along the Lebanese coast and the Mediterranean basin, witnessing to the wide usage of this artisanship. In modern times, the production of clay jars became much rarer as few perpetuated the challenging and physically demanding process. The undisputable star is the Fakhoury family in the beautiful village of Beit Chabeb. For generations, the Fakhoury have immortalized the manual clay jars' production driven by a main client: Domaine des Tourelles. An idyll that lasted till few years ago with the late Faouzi Fakhoury, the last heir of this incredible odyssey. This is how Arak Brun has acquired over the years hundreds of traditional clay jars, making it the biggest collection of its kind in Lebanon.
There, the aging of the arak starts a unique journey for an average time of one year (classic Brun), five years (Brun 5 YO), and ten years (Brun 10 YO); framing its most refined quality and taste.
Next time you drink arak, think of this incredible process it underwent before ending up in your glass!
