Ouzo: Peculiar and Popular

For those of us who’ve seen it all, done it all, and drank it all, Greece’s most famous drink and aperitif, Ouzo deserves a fresh new review. Ouzo comes in many different forms, some is flavored, other manufactures sell it in varieties pertaining to the region or vintage of the beverage. But Ouzo, and the drink that started Greek aperitifs, tsipouro, has been in existence for over two millennia.

In the times of ancient Greece, tsipouro was used in celebrations as well as every day life. It was the go to drink for just about any gathering of people. In the 14^th century, Greek monks at the monastery of Mount Athos added anise seed to the original tsipouro recipe, creating the first form of ouzo. These monks so enjoyed their newly fashioned beverage that they marketed it to townspeople and ouzo slowly became the national drink of Greece. Ouzo distillation exploded in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century. In the mid 20^th century, distillers began to use copper stills in the creation of the drink, which is now a part of the process of creating Ouzo that most distilleries follow religiously.

The sudden popularity of Ouzo is partly due to the demonization of Absinthe, which at the time was one of France’s most popular imbibes, even beating out French wine in popularity. It’s almost unbelievable to say that French citizens were more inclined to enjoy a glass of Absinthe than they were a glass of their own wine, but wine does not have wormwood in it now does it? Once Absinthe was outlawed in France and many other European nations in 1915, Ouzo and other similarly flavored alternatives were able to take root in the market.

Ouzo is colorless, but tastes very much like a smooth glass of licorice with a fiery aftertaste. It is often served chilled in a shot glass or mixed with soda water of cola. I prefer it straight or diluted with water, another procedure borrowed from the Absinthe tradition. This tradition, called louching, involves adding water to the alcohol to help reduce the alcohol content as well as to smooth out the taste and after taste of the drink. Ouzo is usually enjoyed in the early evening, before a meal as a sort of pre-dinner appetizer. Hence Ouzo’s status as an aperitif. This drink is famous all over Europe, not just in Greece, for it’s relatively high alcohol by volume and strong, masculine character. Some popular cocktails that contain Ouzo are the Greek Revolution Shooter, the Greek Tiger, the Greek Doctor, and the Jelly Bean.