🥃 Ouzo

Ouzo is the aniseed spirit people think of first when they think of Greece. It is a geographical indication of Greece and Cyprus for distilled anise (the EU category "distilled anis"), made by blending alcohols flavoured by distillation or maceration with anise and, possibly, fennel, mastic from the island of Chios and other seeds and plants. Ouzo is sold at a strength of at least 37.5% ABV.

The distillation-flavoured alcohol is produced only in traditional copper batch stills of up to 1000 l. Distillation is slow, usually 8-24 hours; the "head", roughly the first 15 l, is discarded, and only the "heart" at 55-80% ABV is used for ouzo. The distillate is then blended with alcohol, water and, if needed, a sweetener: the dry extract of finished ouzo is no more than 50 g/l. A separate variety is "100% distillation", where all the strength comes from distillation-flavoured alcohol.

Flavouring and blending take place only in Greece or Cyprus, and the stages cannot be split between the two countries. The EU register has five more compound names: ouzo of Mitilini, Plomari, Kalamata, Thrace and Macedonia; others, such as ouzo of Chios or Samos, are protected nationally.

When water or ice is added, ouzo turns milky white: anethole and other aromatic substances dissolve less well as strength and temperature fall, and below 0 °C crystals may appear. According to the specification, ouzo is drunk slowly, in small portions, with meze, seafood appetisers.

Why it matters to you. Cloudiness is a natural sign of an anise drink, not a defect. The mark "100% distillation" means all the alcohol was flavoured in copper stills. The specification names pomace spirits as the forerunners of ouzo. The WHO: there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.