How did alcohol taxation shape early modern Ottoman society? This paper addresses this question through an in-depth analysis of the taxes levied on alcoholic beverages, particularly wine and arak (a distilled spirit), and on taverns in seventeenth-century Ottoman Istanbul. It examines the types, amounts, and collection methods of these taxes while providing insights into the interactions surrounding these taxes. I argue that alcohol taxation was a financial and regulatory instrument for the state as well as a catalyst for dialogue between tax collectors and taxpayers and, more broadly, between the state and society. This argument is supported through a close reading of the city’s Islamic court records (sicils), which include both unpublished and published sicils from various courts of Istanbul. These sicils, constituting a rich tapestry of records such as imperial edicts, taxation rules and receipts, and daily life accounts, offer unparalleled insights into the complexities of tax-related interactions. The paper also uses the Ottoman Imperial Council registers (mühimmes) to supplement the information collected from the sicils. As an analytical framework, the study adopts an approach to the Ottoman revenue system that categorizes taxes based on their base or “the item on which the tax is levied,” diverging from widespread approaches that focus on revenue sources (e.g., tithes on agriculture, market taxes, mining revenues) or recipients. This paper reveals that taxes on wine, arak, and taverns provided the Ottoman state with a lucrative revenue source from the city’s alcohol production, trade, and consumption networks and served as a tool for regulating these networks. The authorities taxed alcohol through any means available, reflecting the state’s willingness to waive the restrictive principles of Islam concerning alcohol consumption. The paper further demonstrates that tax collectors were key agents in enforcing taxation regulations, thereby ensuring the proper functioning of the taxation system and that individuals utilized tax payment as a strategy to continue their alcohol-related enterprises even during the prohibitions on alcohol.