Tsipouro ( el, τσίπουρο, tsípouro) is an un-aged brandy from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and in particular

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, Macedonia, and the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

(where Cretans call it

tsikoudia ''Tsikoudia'' ( el, τσικουδιά, tsikoudiá, literally "terebinth"), also often called '' raki'' ( el, ρακή, rakí) in the eastern part of Crete, is an alcoholic beverage, a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Cretan origin that co ...

). Tsipouro is a strong

distilled spirit Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or ha ...

containing 40–45%

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol ( ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) ...

and is produced from either the

pomace Pomace ( ), or marc (; from French ''marc'' ), is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit. Grape pomace has traditionally been used to pro ...

(the residue of the

wine press A winepress is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts contro ...

) or from the wine after the grapes and juice have been separated. It comes in two types, pure and

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and t ...

-flavoured, and is usually not aged in barrels, although barrel aged versions do exist.

History

According to tradition, the first production of tsipouro was the work of

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

s in the 14th century on

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peni ...

Macedonia, Greece Macedonia (; el, Μακεδονία, Makedonía ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and Greek geographic region, with a population of 2.36 million in 2020. It is ...

Method of production

Ripe dark

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

s are passed through crusher/destemmers. The mass is left to settle for a few days, just enough to get

fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

started. Formerly, wine would be collected and only the solid residue would be used for ''tsipouro'' in an attempt to get the most out of the plant. Today some producers use the whole of the pulp, without taking out the must for wine production. This results to a superior product, called “apostagma”, sold at approximately twice the price of tsipouro. In the next stage, the mass is fed into distillation units, where temperature and pressure are closely monitored. The first and last distinct batches (the 'head' and the 'tail') are discarded. Only the intermediate batch (known as the 'heart') is kept to make tsipouro. This process is repeated to obtain doubly distilled tsipouro, which might be superior. Finally, the distillate is left to settle and mature in stainless steel tanks. It can also be aged in wooden barrels to give 'aged tsipouro', a relatively new beverage that can be compared to

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ...

Serving

Depending on the time of year, tsipouro is used either as refreshment or as a hot beverage, and depending on the time of day, it replaces the drinking of coffee or wine. Tsipouro and tsikoudia, like all

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol that acts Alcohol (drug), as a drug and is produced by Ethanol fermentation, fermentat ...

s in Greece, are generally consumed at social gatherings. According to Greek manufacturers, the best way to enjoy tsipouro is straight from the fridge. Some people prefer to either dilute with water or add ice. Tsipouro is usually served in shot glasses with

meze Meze or mezza (, ) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in the Levant, Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Iran. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian antipasti. A mezze may be served as a part of a multi-course ...

(a small side dish) such as nuts, dried fruit, raisins, cheese, olives, seafood, meat,

halva Halva (also halvah, halwa, and other spellings, Persian : حلوا) is a type of confectionery originating from Persia and widely spread throughout the Middle East. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made f ...

, or

paximadi Paximathia ( el, παξιμάδια), also spelt paximadia (plural), or paximadi/paximathi (singular), is a hard bread of Greek origin, similar to rusk, that is prepared with whole wheat, chick pea or barley flour.... It has been referred to as be ...

(rusk). In 2006, Greece filed a request for tsipouro to be recognized as a PDO (

Protected Designation of Origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

) product, which was granted later that year.

Relation to ouzo

Anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and t ...

-flavoured tsipouro is also available, produced especially in Macedonia and

. Anise-flavoured tsipouro and

ouzo Ouzo ( el, ούζο, ) is a dry anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece. It is made from rectified spirits that have undergone a process of distillation and flavoring. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like pastis, ...

have almost identical taste but vary enormously in their method of production. The alcohol used to produce ouzo is 96% ABV

rectified spirit Rectified spirit, also known as neutral spirits, rectified alcohol or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, is highly concentrated ethanol that has been purified by means of repeated distillation in a process called rectification. In some countri ...

(ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin) and therefore does not retain the flavours of the primary distilled products, whereas the lower degree of distillation of tsipouro allows it to retain the aroma of the pomace.

References

External links