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Distiller Amer ad-Doumali launched “Arak Bashiqa” in September, a new brand of the Levant's traditional anise drink whose recipe is centered on dates. It was a bold move in conservative Iraq, where a yet-unenforced 2016 law banned the production and trade of alcohol.
Doumali’s new brand is the product of his home distillery in the town of Bahzani in Iraq’s northern Ninaveh province. The town is very close to Bashiqa, once known as the booze capital of Iraq.
