Ouzo, national drink of Greece

In Greece, with its ancient wine-growing tradition, grape skins were used for this purpose, and distilled into pure brandy. But in order to extract all of the flavor from the aniseed it has first to be soaked in a mixture of alcohol and water. It is only the distilling process, sometimes repeated, that brings out the pure character of the flavorings desired.

Ouzo is producted almost everywhere in Greece, usually in small quantities on a do-it-yourself basis. Everyone takes great care to guard his or her own recipe like a treasures; even the well-known brand names do not give away their secrets. In the big factories today, each aromatic mixture is calculated down to the smallest detail in order to avoid any deviation in taste. The aromatic distillation is then mixed with a flavorless alcohol, sugar and distilled water to produce aniseed liqueur.

Ouzo is often drunk cold with added ice cubes and diluted with water. This causes it to turn a milky white color, a reaction caused by the aniseed oil dispersing itself in minute droplets. Despite all the signs of its popularity, Ouzo would not be regarded as the national drink of Greece if it were not for the fact that it is usually drunk at the end of a meal - and in a restaurant it is often served as an amiable gesture on the part of the landlord.