Rakia is produced from fermented and distilled fruits, typically plums and grapes, but also apricots, pears, cherries or raspberries.

Plum and grape rakia are sometimes mixed with other ingredients, such as herbs, honey, sour cherries and walnuts, after distillation.

Some types of rakia are kept in wooden barrels (oak or mulberry) for extra aroma and a golden color.

[citation needed] "Boğma rakı" in Turkey is the common name of the domestic raki which is made from fruits such as grapes, dates, figs, mulberries, or plums.

A major contributing factor to the production of rakija in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the diversity and availability of fruit in the valley of the river Drina and the untouched and very often wild nature in the mountains.

In the summer, it's very typical to see huge glass jars of rakija with nuts steeping in the liquid on every balcony, because the process requires the exposure of orahovica to the sun.

Cretan tsikoudia is a pomace brandy made by single distilling grapes after most of their juice has been extracted to produce wine and having left them to ferment in barrels.

Special permits are given from late October until the end of November to produce tsikoudia at home in Cretan villages.

It is commonly served cold as an apéritif with seafood and meze, usually referred to as rakomezedes, or as a complimentary digestif with spoon sweets or fruit after a meal.

Tsikoudia is an integral element of the island’s culture, identified by many as "the national drink of Crete" and linked to hospitality.

A lot of people in North Macedonia make homemade white rakija with natural process from grape distillate and add anise which gives sweetness.

[citation needed] In Romania and Moldova, the related word rachiu or rachie is used to refer to a similar alcoholic beverage as these neighboring countries, often a strong fruit-based spirit, usually from grapes.

Additionally, the regional term vinars (literally "burnt-wine") in Romania, and divin in Moldova, can refer to brandy in general as well.

[19][20][21] According to Dragan Đurić, President of the Association of Producers of Natural Spirits, the EU protects the names of beverages by allowing the prefix Serbian.

It is comparable to several other alcoholic beverages available around the Mediterranean and the Middle East, such as pastis, ouzo, sambuca, arak and aguardiente.

Although wine is the essential part of the Eucharist rite in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in the region, rakia has found uses in certain religious and related rituals across the Balkans.

At the end of the Orthodox Christian burial service, at the exit from the cemetery, visitors are offered a piece of soda bread (pogača) and a glass of rakia.

[25] During wedding ceremonies, the groom's father goes around all tables and offers a glass of rakia to all guests, sharing a toast for the happiness of the newlyweds.

It is also used as a sacramental element by the Bektashi Order,[26] and Alevi Jem ceremonies, where it is not considered alcoholic and is referred to as "dem".