You’ll often see ouzo being accompanied by a classic Greek meze appetiser, but there are also occasions when you can drink it without food. The decision might well have to do with where in Greece the ouzo comes from. If it’s from Macedonia, it won’t contain sugar and so will be drier than ouzos from elsewhere, making the accompaniment of an appetiser more important. The ouzos of southern Greece, on the other hand, contain sugar, meaning they can easily be drunk without an appetiser. Considered the highest village on Lesvos, it is the birthplace of Benjamin of Lesvos. In the centre of the village you will find a monument in his honour Care for an ouzaki? Like so many words in Greek, ouzo is often referred to affectionately in the diminutive, which makes it even more seductive and appealing. Just a ‘little’ drink, nothing pretentious or serious about it, an ouzaki can be an excuse to pause in the middle or end of a busy day for a chat with friends or a cardinal feature of a summer holiday on an Greek island. Whatever you call it, sharing a carafe or miniature bottle of ouzo is an essential Greek experience. While there are absolutely no rules about doing it properly, there are certainly ways of getting the most out of it.

Like most alcoholic spirits, a moderate amount can aid the intestine in absorbing iron from food as well as reduce blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels. Kremezi, Aglaia (1994-05-08). "TASTE OF TRAVEL: GREECE: Athens Openers: Traditional Appetizers Good Enough for the Gods Are Making the Meal in Modern Ouzeries". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2022-03-29. Ouzo is a strong alcoholic drink made in Greece. It is made out of pure ethyl alcohol flavored with anise and possibly other spices. Contrary to popular belief, Ouzo is not made out of grapes! What does Ouzo taste like? The mixture of alcohol, anise and aromatic substances is placed into special cauldrons where it is distilled. Each producer might follow a slightly different procedure, so the mixture might be heated, cooled off and distilled a number of times. The phrase “Protected Designation of Origin” (PDO) is a type of geographical indication, widely used in the European Union and the United Kingdom.However, they tend to be harder to find than Greek ouzo. If you’re looking for something similar to ouzo, consider Italian sambuca instead. Pokud byste začali chodit z obchodu do obchodu, možná byste na Ouzo natrefili, avšak raději jděte na jistotu a zalovte na internetu. Přestože si připlatíte za dopravu desítek korun, máte jistotu, že vám přijde domů přesně to, co hledáte a dokonce bez nějaké velké námahy. Klikněte si například na známý porovnávač Heureka.cz, který vám ukáže hned několik eshopů nabízejících tento likér. Ouzo is usually mixed with water, becoming cloudy white, sometimes with a faint blue tinge, and served with ice cubes in a small glass. Ouzo can also be drunk straight from a shot glass. When consumed neat, ouzo can be somewhat strong and overpowering. Yet, it is almost always diluted with a bit of water.

The aniseed plant is prevalent around the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, there are many other drinks with similar taste produced in this region, such as the following: When choosing what to eat with your ouzo, you could say the flavours of the meze need to be conflicting – aggressive even: sour with salty, sweet with bitter, with ouzo always prevailing between them. Other examples of Greek PDO products include Kalamata olives, Santorini tomato, Chios mastiha, and our famous Feta cheese! What is Ouzo made fromGood quality Ouzo comes from 100% distillation, as written on the label. Some of the most popular Ouzo brands are Isidorou Arvaniti (Plomari), Barbayianni, Ouzo 12, Mini, Tsantali, Babatzim and Pitsiladi. How is Ouzo produced

In Lesvos and in particular, in Plomari you can visit two exceptional museums of Ouzo (The world of Ouzo Museum and Greek Ouzo Barbayanni Museum) where one can watch and learn the distillery process of the drink, learn its unique history, and indulge himself in local and fresh ouzo production. Most Ouzo brands that you will find on the Greek market have an alcohol content of 40-42% vol. Depending on the brand, the taste of Ouzo varies, with some being more intense, sharper or sweeter than others. However, grape-based ouzo won’t contain any gluten at all. The only issue is that few producers will openly state whether the alcohol base is made from grapes of grain. A variety of flavoursome botanicals, including anise, are mixed with a base spirit made of grape which then goes through a double distillation process to further refine the taste of the liquor. These two beverages are quite different from ouzo, but they’re both diluted with water when served. As they are steeped for longer with a greater quantity of botanicals, they’re not clear and have a distinctive green or brown colour. In comparison, ouzo has a clean and crisp flavour.As you have probably guessed, ouzo has a distinctive aniseed flavour. However, high-quality ouzo may also feature some aromatic properties thanks to other herbs and spices used to make it. On October 25, 2006, Greece won the right to label ouzo as an exclusively Greek product. [4] The European Union now recognizes ouzo, as well as the Greek drinks tsipouro and tsikoudia, as products with a Protected Designation of Origin, which prohibits European makers other than Greece and Cyprus from using the name. The origin of the name "ouzo" is disputed. A popular derivation is from the Italian "uso Marsiglia"— for use in Marseille—stamped on selected silkworm cocoons exported from Tyrnavos in the 19th century. According to anecdote, this designation came to stand for "superior quality", which the spirit distilled as ouzo was thought to possess. [6] A bottle of Ouzo Plomari The term PDO suggests that a product has been “produced, processed and developed in a specific geographical area, using the recognized know-how of local producers and ingredients from the region concerned”. You can read more about it here.