Sag

SAG was founded in 2024 by four Iranian expats (Amir Imani, Siavash Karampour, and brothers Sasan and Saman Oskouei)—friends from Iran, reunited in Brooklyn, who have dedicated themselves to the production of unaged raisin eau-de-vie, a modern reinterpretation of (and tribute to) aragh sagi, a spirit with a deep cultural legacy now deemed illegal in its native land.

In some ways, the name says it all: Very roughly translated to “doggy spirit,” aragh sagi is derived from aragh, an adaptation of the Arabic araq, meaning spirit (literally “sweat,” “sap,” or “essence”). Useful for distinguishing distilled spirit from fermented alcohol, the term was freely adopted according to its place of use when spirits were first traded around the world (thus, arak, the anise-scented spirit of Lebanon, palm arrack from South and Southeast Asia, and Batavia arrack, from Indonesia). In this light, it also speaks to the historic production of alcohol in Iran, where evidence of winemaking dates to 5000 BCE (antedating Persian civilization itself) and where grape- or raisin-based distillate has been produced for at least the last 700 years. The “doggy” association was originally proprietary and brings us closer to the present, referring to a brand (introduced by the Meikadeh Company in the 1960s) that was popular in Iran prior to the revolution, and which featured on its label the distinctive image of a beagle. 

Described variously (and often simultaneously) as “the national spirit of Iran” and “the forbidden spirit,” aragh sagi now occupies unique cultural terrain, balancing its long history of legal consumption with its relatively recent illicit status (along with all other alcohol in Iran, which was banned from production, sale, and public consumption in 1979).Translated from a largely informal production history, each bottle of SAG Aragh is packed with the cultural touchstones and tensions of the Iranian diaspora, fueled by the expatriate’s nostalgic search for a familiar but faraway, possibly unattainable place, brought close by deeply impactful sense memory.

To evoke this sense memory, the SAG team settled on their desired style, proof, and flavor profile in experimentations with homemade batches, then made an inspired choice for their contract distilling partner. Nahmias et Fils Distillery in Yonkers, New York, is run by David and Dorit Nahmias. David Nahmias comes from a Moroccan Jewish family, and he was already producing traditional raisin- and fig-based distillates when he met SAG’s four partners. Without sacrificing the vitality of this widely but informally produced spirit, he was able to translate the essence of aragh sagi. Using sundried Thompson Seedless raisins from California, the distillery creates a must with water and organic cane sugar, ferments with a vigorous wine/cider yeast, and distills in a single pass on a copper pot still. No aging period or additives are used to alter the resulting eau-de-vie.

As it happens, the four friends behind SAG are connected via the art and music and bar scenes in New York. The energy they bring to the project, and the connections within their local communities, have found an appropriately vibrant home for a spirit that sings at once of countercultural spirit and deep tradition. Simultaneously embodying the jostling, uninhibited joy of an illicit pop-up disco but also the silent, brooding presence of one of the great civilizations of the world, SAG puts its finger on the pulse of the vibrant cultural life of a country, deepening connections to home, wherever home happens to be.