Greek vodka: name, species, photo

Greece is associated with a wine country. But the product of the vine is not only light alcoholic drinks. Since humanity invented a still cube, cancer has appeared. Many people consider this type of distillate a national Turkish drink. But this is not so. In fact, in the Ottoman Empire, alcohol, the more robust, was allowed to be consumed only by the giauram - not Muslims. But lovers have a drink everywhere, and therefore the Greek vodka fell to the court of the conquerors. The name began to sound like "raki". And in Azerbaijan they began to make their analogue - arak. Have got acquainted with this vodka and Slavs. Balkan raka is also the younger sister of Greek vodka. And what other types of strong alcohol exist in Hellas? This article will be devoted to this issue. We will tell not only about crawfish, but also interesting drinks like ouzo, mastic, tsipuro and others.

Poverty is not a vice, but a push to inventions

Unlike the northern countries, where distillates were originally produced from grain, Greek vodka is a by-product of winemaking. When the berries pressed and received the precious must, there were squeezes. What to do with the cake? Usually it was thrown into the vineyards, and the rotten refuse was used as fertilizer for the vines. But if a person is poor, he will not be so easy to throw something away. In sugar cake sugar and water were added and left to re-roam. After that, distillation was carried out and wine alcohols were obtained. The drink was called "crayfish" much later. The etymology of the distillate is rooted in the Arabic language. "Arak" in translation means "sweat", which is understandable to anyone who has ever seen a moonshine in his life. But still the grape vodka from Greece is very different from the Italian grappa, although the raw materials and technology of preparing two drinks are approximately the same.

His Majesty anis

In the world there are two kinds of plants, not at all related, but bearing fruits with the same smell. Badyan is an evergreen shrub that grows in East Asia. Its fruits are like brown stars, and in each ray of it hides a seed. And anise, which is common in Europe, is a grass belonging to the umbrella family. Two types of plants aromatic essential oil anethole. It is in abundance in fruits and anise, and badyan. However, the Greeks call their herb, the fragrant properties of which were noticed even in ancient times, glyiknisosom, which means "sweet anise." This seasoning was used by other nations. In Egypt, for example, the grass was part of ointments for the mummification of the dead. Greek aniseed vodka has a prototype - "Hippocratic wine". He was drunk as a medicine for many ailments. Hippocrates was the first to insist on anise.

Greek crawfish vodka

It is believed that this is a national Turkish drink. But before the liberal reforms of the nineteenth century, Muslims did not even dare to think about producing distillates. This is the territory of the Ottoman Empire engaged in the Greeks, less often - people from the Balkans. Raki became popular in Turkey thanks to Kemal Ataturk, who liked this drink very much. Aniseed vodka should be diluted. Usually a mixture is made from one part of the crayfish and two to three parts of the mineral water. When diluted with water, the solution instantly turns white and becomes like milk. This is because the essential anise oil comes from alcohol, and an emulsion is formed. It is because of the white opaque color that the Turkish drink of raki (but in fact the Greek vodka of crayfish) has a poetic name "lion milk". The fortress of this drink varies from forty to fifty degrees. In undiluted form, the crayfish has a very strong anise smell and a burning sharp taste.

Greek Ozo Vodka

At first glance it seems that the national drink ouzo is the same crayfish, only softer. But this is not so. The technology of production is completely different. Grape alcohols in ouzo do not exceed thirty percent. But that's not all. The quality Greek vodka ouzo, in addition to anise, contains a whole range of spices. It is coriander, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, tubby and fennel. Aromatic spices are first insisted on pure grape alcohol. Then it is distilled through a copper distiller, separating the front and the end parts. The middle one is again cleaned, and then bred with soft lime water to a fortress at thirty-seven and a half degrees. The etymology of the name of this very old vodka is interesting. In the town of Tiernavos, in Thessaly, the local population was engaged in the cultivation of silkworm cocoons for export to France. Then this part of Greece was owned by Italy. Therefore, boxes with cocoons before being sent across the sea were marked with the inscription Uso a Marsiglia (Italian "Use in Marseilles"). Local farmers did not know the meaning of these words, but this phrase was for them the standard of the highest quality. Therefore, when the visiting people asked what kind of vodka this was, they answered - ouzo.

Tsipuro

The first mention of this distillate is found in the monastic books of Athos of the late sixteenth century. Tsipuro is made by distilling grape cake. Then spices are added to spirits - cloves or cinnamon. Then increase the alcohol content in the drink to 40-45 degrees. In Macedonia and Thessaly in tsipuro add anise, and there drink reminds ouzo. Crete has its own national Greek vodka. What is the name of the local drink? Rakomelo. But in this vodka there is no trace of anise, but only lean honey. Tsipuro drink undiluted from small glasses. The drink is served to appetizers (dried tomatoes, spicy sausages and cheeses), as well as desserts (halva, nuts, raisins).

Mastic

A familiar word, is not it? In translation it means "to chew with a tooth grinding". And all because Greek vodka mastic insists on the roots of the tree chios. When alcohols obtained from grape cakes are pumped through this vegetable raw material, they are enriched with ether resins. The mastic has a very specific taste and smell. Drink this vodka necessarily with the addition of ice. When immersed in cubes, the resin dissolved in alcohol emerges from the chemical compound, and the drink becomes opaque, white, like milk. In Greece there are two types of mastic: vodka and sweet liquor.