grabbed a bottle of Ouzo

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Cincinnati has LOTS of Greek families, and one of the traditions that SOME of them practice is passing around shots of Ouzo at graveside services as a toast to the deceased. I work in the cemetery and can't partake on the job, but I finally bought a bottle for home consumption.

WOW. It tastes like black licorice on steroids. Apparently it's properly referred to as anise.

Anyway, I think I prefer it neat, but on the rocks is OK too, although the cloudiness when water or ice is added makes it look like alza-seltzer.

Not necessarily something I'd drink every day, but I do like it.
 
Sounds like heartburn in a bottle. Wish I was younger! Thanks for the thread
cheers3.gif
 
The hangover from this stuff is just awful. Gives me a lot of dizziness and some headache to the point the enjoyment is gone. For this reason I don't drink it anymore.I prefer tsipouro or tsikoudia (in Crete) or raki (same thing Turkish name).no dizziness or headache at all even if you drink to the point of fainting!ouzo has a lot of additives in it and that's the reason it gets cloudy even with a hint of water. Cheers
 
Originally Posted By: Panos
The hangover from this stuff is just awful. Gives me a lot of dizziness and some headache to the point the enjoyment is gone. For this reason I don't drink it anymore.I prefer tsipouro or tsikoudia (in Crete) or raki (same thing Turkish name).no dizziness or headache at all even if you drink to the point of fainting!ouzo has a lot of additives in it and that's the reason it gets cloudy even with a hint of water. Cheers


Kalispera!

Ouzo and Raki are not the same thing, and they taste slightly different. Usually Ouzo has more anise (for flavouring), whereas Raki has more spices/herbs in it.
 
I always tread gingerly with a new type of beverage until I get a handle on how I react to it. Drank about a gallon of water before I went to bed and felt just fine when the alarm went off at 5:45AM. I keep bottles of Fireball, Jagermeister and SchwartzHog in the bar freezer for parties and whatnot, but I generally stick with bourbon, either neat or rocks, largely because I know how much I can have and still feel like a human being in the morning.
 
We used to drink it mixed with cold water on hot days. It has a cooling effect. It shouldn't be drunk so much that you get drunk. Enjoy a small glass of 40-60 ouzo-water before dinner as an aperitif.

It's not sambuca to be drunk neat.
 
Yia sou!!

Ouzo is okay if you like the black licorice (anise) flavor. I've had tsipouro that was literally moonshine brought over from Greece. Yowza!! If you like brandy then you might like Metaxa and the more stars (7 vs 5), the better. I had something called Mastica (sp?) once that was real smooth and I liked it but it's impossible to find in the US, at least around here.
 
Anisette(Sambuca) is great in black coffee. Real Ouzo has wormwood in it like absinthe. Nasty buzz. I explore a new booze cautiously, a couple tablespoons neat. For a really terrible Greek drink, I recommend Metaxa 5 Star Brandy. The hangovers I get are debilitating enough so that I plan for them when I drink. Can't spend the time. I over serve myself only once a yr with my brothers. I budget a day house hanging when applying for vacation.
 
Originally Posted By: dgunay
Originally Posted By: Panos
The hangover from this stuff is just awful. Gives me a lot of dizziness and some headache to the point the enjoyment is gone. For this reason I don't drink it anymore.I prefer tsipouro or tsikoudia (in Crete) or raki (same thing Turkish name).no dizziness or headache at all even if you drink to the point of fainting!ouzo has a lot of additives in it and that's the reason it gets cloudy even with a hint of water. Cheers


Kalispera!

Ouzo and Raki are not the same thing, and they taste slightly different. Usually Ouzo has more anise (for flavouring), whereas Raki has more spices/herbs in it.


greek raki tsikoudia or tsipouro are all pretty much plain alcohol from grapes, absolutely no herbs in it. There is however a version of tsipouro with glykaniso (liquorice) that tastes closely to ouzo
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
Anisette(Sambuca) is great in black coffee. Real Ouzo has wormwood in it like absinthe. Nasty buzz. I explore a new booze cautiously, a couple tablespoons neat. For a really terrible Greek drink, I recommend Metaxa 5 Star Brandy. The hangovers I get are debilitating enough so that I plan for them when I drink. Can't spend the time. I over serve myself only once a yr with my brothers. I budget a day house hanging when applying for vacation.

May i recommend pickled cucumber juice or pickled cabbage juice (the version without vinegar, just salt, black pepper rounds and garlic gloves and water)

european brandy is an acquired taste....
 
Originally Posted By: CincyDavid
They had the Panegyri Festival at St Nicholas-Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church recently, it's a huge event, and the weather wasn't beastly hot, for once. This event has been going on for maybe 35 years, and gets bigger every year.

http://holytrinity.oh.goarch.org/panegyri/event-info
Yep, right up the hill from me (Hartwell), I've always wanted to go, but, it seems like it always falls on a working weekend. Miss our parish festival (St. James of the Valley).
 
Back in the '70's, we'd take a bottle of Ouzo, a bottle of vodka and a large bottle of rasberry soft drink...mix them altogether, and take away 3 bottles with us. It was probably a pretty good brew...
 
My mother's people came from a Greek island early in the last century and the Cleveland area Greek community was pretty good sized as well as pretty social, so I knew what Ouzo was.
We finally bought a bottle while in the Caribbean, probably on St Martin.
It is a pretty cheap spirit and it isn't bad at all.
It really needs to be served over ice. It is a little too overpowering neat.
There are also some interesting Greek wines, including the ancient retsina, which is flavored with a bit of pine resin. If a chard is often too oaky, this stuff is certainly piney.
 
Oh, I forgot about retsina. I have tried it as a curiosity. Not bad, but I'm not much of a wino these days. Is it a dinner wine? It certainly would cut oil or grease.
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