Check your inbox to confirm your subscription. It is traditionally produced in copper stills, where alcohol is mixed with water, aniseed, and other herbs and spices like fennel, cloves, and coriander. 3. The most famous and well-traveled of all the Greek alcoholic beverages, ouzo is a drink that reminds most people of warm days by the sea (in Greece only hardcore ouzo lovers order it in the middle of the winter).. Listen to the audio pronunciation in the Cambridge English Dictionary. It’s then distilled into a high-proof alcoholic beverage that’s flavored primarily with anise, which gives it a distinctive licorice taste. Your email address will not be published. Learn how your comment data is processed. Place one or two ice cubes in a small glass. Raki, which you’ll find in Crete, and tsipouro, very common in the mainland – both distilled spirits very much like American moonshine – contain up to 45% alcohol. The flavours pair well with traditional Greek appetisers like calamari, feta cheese, and olives. If you want to get the most out of your trip to Greece, then look no further. Raki, which you’ll find in Crete, and tsipouro, very common in the mainland – both distilled spirits very much like American moonshine – contain up to 45% alcohol. To the Greeks, serving ouzo in an art. By: AARON GOLDFARB There’s nothing quite like drinking a cold one by a hot grill or smoker. Finally, to fully enjoy and savor not only the beverage itself, but the cultural ritual of drinking it, absolutely do drink ouzo — the Greek way! 2. Ouzo is the official drink of Greece. Interestingly, this cloudiness is an indicator of the sambuca’s anise content. As a seasoned travel and tourism professional but also as a traveler myself, I know from firsthand experience Greece’s best-kept secrets and much more. 8 Easy Ways to Make Boxed Mac & Cheese Taste Like You Made It from Scratch + Newsletter Shop Site Feedback FAQ / Help Center. Drink it neat in a shot glass, diluted with ice and water, or as a cocktail with crushed ice and freshly squeezed orange juice. The […] Escape to Greece with our monthly Newsletter! Read the How do you drink Ouzo? The main difference between Ouzo and Sambuca is that the Ouzo is a anis drink and Sambuca is a Italian anise-flavoured liqueur. Ouzo: the national drink with an international career – Interview with Nikos Kalogiannis, president of the Isidoros Arvanitis Distillery of Plomari. Hi! Greeks Meet Virtually to Drink Ouzo Together Under Lockdown By Anna Wichmann -Dec 6, 2020 Traditional Greek and ouzo. Last but not least: When we toast in Greece, we gently tap each other’s glasses – so if there are four friends, you tap four times (imagine when there are nine of you!) Ouzo is usually served with ice and water and always in small, slim glasses. Ouzo drink with its strong anise flavour and with a little hint of Greece is a clear drink which gets milky-like when water is poured into it and aromas emerge and demonstrate its other qualities. Pour a small amount of ouzo over the ice. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. If you are in a bar and you plan to be there a while sip, your drink and have a good time with out getting Hammered, you put 2oz of water and 2oz of Ouzo in a tall glass at room temp and sip. Better find some excellent Greek wines to symbolize Greece and leave the ouzo talk for the gutter. Both the quality of the distillation process and the flavorings make each brand of ouzo very different in taste. How to say ouzo. Don’t do ouzo shots! When serving or drinking ouzo, raki, or tsipouro glasses are never filled to the top, just barely past the half point. Luckily, its popularity escaped beyond the borders of Greece. Ouzo dates back to a distillery owned by Nicholas Katsaros in 1856. Credit: Greek Reporter Drinking ouzo with a group of friends gathered around a table full of delicious mezedes, or small dishes, and sharing the latest news is a quintessential Greek experience. Greece’s three main alcoholic drinks – ouzo, tsipouro and raki (also known as tsikoudia) – are literally mischievous ‘spirits’ that must be enjoyed at a slow pace always accompanied by titbits of food – known as “mezedes” – and plenty of water. I’m Maria, a Chicago-born Greek-American living and working in Greece as a professional journalist for the past 30 years. Ouzo. Ouzo (Greek: ούζο, IPA: [ˈuzo]) is a dry anise-flavoured aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece, Cyprus and Lebanon. Do drink it cold, but don’t refrigerate it. That’s why you should add some water if you want a lighter version of the … 8. It is the drink of Greece, the one nobody can ever copy. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like pastis and sambuca. Ouzo is very strong; drinking it on an empty stomach is a very bad idea. Place one or two ice cubes in a small glass. Do drink it accompanied by a small plate or two of mezedes – the Greek version of tapas. Ouzo can be described to have a similar taste to absinthe which is liquorice-like, but smoother. Join the discussion today. Add some water if you want it light. Or, pour a small amount of Ouzo into a glass, neat, then add a splash of very cold water in lieu of ice. Flavor and how to serve ouzo. ginger ale, metaxa, ice cubes, lemon juice, ouzo, lemon slice Honeydew Ouzo Cocktail Mia Kouppa lime, fresh mint leaves, cold water, water, honeydew, simple syrup and 5 more Once you add ice to your ouzo it turns cloudy. Rakomelo should never be boiling hot just warm, very much like the temperature Japanese sake is served. Don’t do Ouzo shots! I would suggest there are two main ways most anise flavoured alcohols are consumed; In-country/traditional or export/modern. And indeed, especially in the summer – served chilled, almost always diluted with water, and very often served with ice, it’s light and refreshing. According to seasoned tipplers, for every sip of ouzo or tsipouro, you should always drink two sips of water. Like you, I love traveling, eating, drinking, relaxing, and having fun, and I know exactly where and how to do just that in Greece. No visit to Greece is complete without at least a taste of the delicious, icy-cold alcoholic drink called ouzo. The key to drinking ouzo is to eat snacks known as mezedes. Ouzo drinking is a cultural ritual that has its own special time and place, usually in late afternoon or early evening, and always accompanied by small plates of food. 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