Ouzo

Drinking Ouzo is an Art. A way of life even. Since 1926, we have remained true to our original recipe through our devotion to maritime tradition and the use of top quality ingredients. Our characteristic taste comes from our careful selection of grapes and our traditional distillation process, lending Captain A Ouzo a unique taste and flavor.Savour it with or without ice to experience a true Greek specialty.

Ouzo (Greek: ούζο) is an anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece and Cyprus.

History

Ouzo has its roots in tsipouro, which is said to have been the pet project of a group of 14th century monks living in a monastery on Mount Athos. One version of it was flavored with anise. This version eventually came to be called ouzo^.

Modern ouzo distillation largely took off in the beginning of the 19th century following Greek independence, with production centered on the island of Lesbos, which claims to be the originator of the drink and remains a major producer. When absinthe fall into disfavor in the early 20th century, ouzo was one of the products whose popularity rose to fill the gap; it was once called "a substitute for absinthe without the worm wood" .In 1932, ouzo producers developed a method of distillation using copper stills that is now the standard method of production. Ouzo is traditionally 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.

Ouzo is traditionally served with a small plate of a variety of appetizers called mezes, usually small fresh fish, fries, olives and feta cheese. Ouzo can be described to have a similar taste to absinthe which is liquorices-like, but smoother.On October 25^th , 2006, Greece won the right to label ouzo as an exclusively Greek product ^.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 this name.

Name

The origin of the name "ouzo" is disputed. A popular derivation is from the Italian "uso Massalia" - 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.

During a visit to Thessaly in 1896, the late professor Alexander Philadelpheus delivered to us valuable information on the origins of the word "ouzo", which has come to replace the word "tsipouro". According to the professor, tsipouro gradually became ouzo after the following event: Thessaly exported fine cocoons to Marseilles during the 19th century, and in order to distinguish the product, outgoing crates would be stamped with the words "uso Massalia"—Italian for "to be used in Marseille". One day, the Ottoman Greek consulate physician, named Anastas (Anastasios) Bey, happened to be visiting the town of Tyrnavos and was asked to sample the local tsipouro. Upon tasting the drink, the physician immediately exclaimed: "This is uso Massalia, my friends"—referring to its high quality. The term subsequently spread by word of mouth, until tsipouro gradually became known as ouzo.—The Times of Thessaly, 1959.

Another hypothesis is that the word "ouzo" comes from the Turkish word üzüm 'grape'.

Preparation

Ouzo production begins with distillation in copper stills of 96%  alcohol by volume (ABV) ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin. Anise is added to the alcohol, and sometimes other flavorings such as star anise, coriander, cloves, and cinnamon are also added. The flavoring ingredients are often closely guarded company secrets, and distinguish one ouzo from another^. The result is a flavored alcoholic solution known as flavored ethyl alcohol, or more commonly as ouzo yeast — μαγιά ούζου in Greek—the term for "yeast" being used by Greeks metaphorically to denote that it serves as the starting point for ouzo production.

Makers of high-quality "100% from distillation" ouzo proceed at this stage with water dilution, bringing the ouzo to its final ABV. But most producers combine the "ouzo yeast" with less expensive ethyl alcohol flavored with 0.05% natural anethole, before water dilution. Greek law dictates that in this case the ouzo yeast cannot be less than 20% of the final product. Sugar may be added before water dilution, which is done mostly with ouzo from Southern Greece. The final ABV is usually between 40% and 50%. The minimum allowed is 37.5%. Ouzo production does not include fermentation or multiple distillations, as it is done with tsipouro, another well-known Greek alcoholic drink similar to Italian grappa.

Aperitif drink

In modern Greece, ouzeries (the suffix -erie is imported from French) can be found in nearly all cities, towns, and villages. These cafe-like establishments serve ouzo with mezedes — appetizers such as octopus, salad, sardines, calamari, fried zucchini, and clams, among others. It is traditionally slowly sipped (usually mixed with water or ice) together with mezedes shared with others over a period of several hours in the early evening. In other countries it is tradition to have ouzo in authentic Greek restaurants as an aperitif, served in a shot glass and deeply chilled before the meal is started. No water or ice is added but the drink is served very cold, enough to make some crystals form in the drink as it is served. Ouzo is often referred to as a particularly strong drink, although its alcohol content is not especially high, compared to other liquors. The reason mainly has to do with its sugar content. Sugar delays ethanol absorption in the stomach, and may thus mislead the drinker into thinking that they can drink more as they do not feel tipsy early on. Then the cumulative effect of ethanol appears and the drinker becomes inebriated rather quickly. This is why it is generally considered poor form to drink ouzo "dry hammer" ("ξεροσφύρι", xerosfýri, an idiomatic expression that means "drinking alcohol without eating anything") in Greece. The presence of food, especially fats or oils, in the upper digestive system prolongs the absorption of ethanol and ameliorates alcohol intoxication.