Anise-flavored spirits
Anise-flavored spirits are a very popular category, and a very old one. It is thought that the version called Raki which originates in Turkey and Lebanon is the oldest. This version is produced from a brandy distilled from sultanas re-distilled with anise.
The most infamous is perhaps absinthe, which originated in the Swiss alps in the 18th century. The spirit was invented by a Mme. Henriod, who included a number of botanicals, including star anise, fennel, wormwood, hyssop, Melissa, parsley, chamomile, coriander, veronica and spinach. The spirit grew in popularity, and was produced in quantity by Pernod at the turn of the 19th century. By the middle of the 19th century, it had become enormously popular, although it was often not of good quality.
This “epidemic” of absinthe consumption (like the English Gin craze a century before) incited a backlash, and the product was banned in France in 1915, supposedly because of the poisonous nature of wormwood, which contains a compound known as thujone, although it is now thought that problems with absinthe related to high alcoholic strength, and not to any properties of thujone.
The category never died, however, and today it includes many other types spirits such as ouzo from Greece, French pastis (and the sweeter Pernod), Basque parcharan, Italian Sambuca, and others. Absinthe itself has also made a comeback, at least in Europe, where it is once again legal.
Raki should not be confused with Araq, which is a generic Arabic word for liquor, and thus indicates a large number of products. Some of these are equivalent to raki, but it is not always the same product. South and Southeast Asian arrack is distilled from palm tree sap or cane and rice, and is unsweetened. Middle Eastern versions like raki are made from dates, figs and raisins, and are flavored with anise or caraway and usually sweetened.
A characteristic of this type of spirit is that the anise oil passes through distillation and precipitates out with water, becoming cloudy (louching). It is meant to be drunk as an aperitif, not after dinner. This example is Barbaryani, from the Island of Lesbos, from a distillate made from figs. Fig juice is used for sweetening. Unlike this spirit, Raki is not sweet.
Akvavit or Aquavit
Akvavit (called schnapps in German-speaking countries) is based on neutral spirits distilled from potatoes or grapes and flavored with caraway. The base spirit can also be flavored with a variety of other spices, such as cumin, dill, fennel, coriander, orange peel and grains of paradise. These aromatic elements can either be macerated in the spirit or re-distilled to infuse flavor. The spirit is usually consumed very cold from small glasses, along with salted fish.
Linie (Linie Aquavit) is both a brand and a general type of spirit that has crossed the equator in a ship. The brand that bears the name ages in ex-sherry casks and ships their distillate across the equator twice.
Schnapps 
Schnapps is another flavored spirit. The most common flavoring agents are caraway or aniseed. Schnapps is referred to in Scandinavia as Akavit or Akvavit. Other flavored spirits include the many types of aniseen-flavored spirits such as anis (France), ouzo (Greece), raki (Turkey) and others. Another similar spirit is pastis, greatly beloved in southern France, which is flavored with licorice and other herbs.
A liqueur is a spirit that has been sweetened and usually flavored, while the word “cordial” is often used as a synonym, but usually refers to beverages made with fruit pulp or juice. Liqueurs began as herbal medicines, and Chartreuse and Jagermeister were early example.
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Wine Regions of the World
