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Ouzo (, ) is a dry anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Cyprus and Greece. It is made from rectified spirit that have undergone a process of distillation and flavoring. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like pastis, sambuca, mastika, rakı, and arak.
Modern ouzo distillation largely took off at the beginning of the 19th century following Greek independence. The first ouzo distillery was founded in Tyrnavos in 1856 by Nikolaos Katsaros, giving birth to the famous ouzo Tyrnavou. When absinthe fell 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 wormwood". Encyclopædia Britannica: Micropaedia article on "ouzo". In 1932, ouzo producers developed a method of distillation using copper that is now the standard method of production. One of the largest producers of ouzo today is Varvayanis (Βαρβαγιάννης), located in the town of Plomari in the southeast portion of the island of Lesbos, while in the same town Pitsiladi (Πιτσιλαδή), a variety of high-quality ouzo, is also distilled.
Ouzo is usually mixed with water, louching, 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 often served with a small plate of a variety of appetizers called , usually small fresh fish, fries, olives, and feta cheese. Ouzo can be described as having a similar taste to absinthe, which is licorice-like but smoother.
On October 25, 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 the name.
There is an ouzo museum in Plomari, Lesvos.
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 Marsiglia"—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 Marsiglia, 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
However, the major Greek dictionaries derive it from the Turkish word üzüm 'grape'.G. Babiniotis, Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας (2002), p. 1285G. Clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth Century Turkish, Oxford 1972, p. 288Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης, Λεξικό της Κοινής Νεοελληνικής, 1998, s.v. ούζο
The ouzo yeast is then distilled. After several hours of distillation, a flavored distillate of approximately 80% ABV is produced. The spirit at the beginning of the distillation (heads) and end (tails) is usually removed to avoid light and heavy alcohols and aromatics. The heads and tails are usually mixed and distilled again. The product of this second distillation can be used to produce a different quality ouzo.
This technique of double-distillation is used by some distillers to differentiate their products.
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 percent natural anethole, before water dilution. Greek law dictates that in this case the ouzo yeast cannot be less than 20 percent 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 42.0 and 55.0 percent; the minimum allowed is 40.5 percent.
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.
In Bulgaria and North Macedonia, the similar beverage is called mastika ( / ), a name that is shared by the distinct Greek liquor mastika which is flavored with mastic crystals. Most commonly it is consumed as an aperitif, usually poured over ice to release its aroma and flavors, and enjoyed with meze. Containing 43–45% alcohol, it has a hot taste, not unlike that of brandy, and is usually made from grapes. In North Macedonia, mastika has traditionally been made in the Strumica area.
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