It's also important to distinguish between the "Balkan" rachiu/rakija/whatever (which can be distilled from several types of fruit and isn't further processed) and the Turkish/Greek raki/ouzo (which is distilled from grape pomace, flavored with aniseed and generally drunken with water, which gives it a characteristic cloudiness - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rak%C4%B1).
Traditionally, Greek Ouzo is mized with just ice (at least that's what my Greek friends thought me), Turkish Rakı is mixed with water and ice. In some cycles though, drinking Rakı without ice/water is a party trick (it's very bitter and strong so a very unpleasant experience - not everyone can do it).
