Tsikoudia (Greek: τσικουδιά), also often called raki (Greek: ρακή) is an alcoholic beverage, a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Cretan origin that contains 40% to 65% alcohol by volume. Tsikoudia is made by distilling of pomace, what remains of grapes pressed in winemaking. The pomace ferments for about six weeks in a tightly-sealed barrel and is then distilled. It is often produced at home in villages throughout Crete, and so the alcohol content varies by producer. Typically each Cretan village has one or two residents who are licensed to distill, and tsikoudia is produced continuously for two or three weeks in late October and early November.

In 2018 we created Caparaki (the combination of the studio name Caparo and the word raki), our first limited edition alcohol product, produced in 160 numbered bottles in total. We shared Caparaki with our clients and friends giving them a special packaging gift to cherish our good moments and to have something to remember. Caparaki is a concept that celebrates craftsmanship. It reflects the studio’s design values by connecting in a lyrical way the essence of our work with the purity of the product.

The packaging box features humorous and sarcastic inside stories, jokes, and projects from Caparo from the previous year. Cartoon portraits of each Caparo member are part of the illustration. One side of the box has new year’s wishes in the form of small poems in the style of the Cretan “mantinada”, a musical declamation resembling a narrative or dialogue. We wrote our own mandinades, introducing little twists since we fused the graphic design terminology with the typical Cretan dialect.

Kostas, the studio founder, hails from Rethymno, Crete, so we had access to top-quality homemade stuff by Kostas’ father, who makes a small portion each year for the family. The whole concept began from some raki-drinking sessions of the crew.