Every autumn after
grape harvest, various wine festivities begin throughout Greece. A few
days later, in Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia and on the island of Crete
the "Celebration of Tsipouro" takes place.

Tsipouro
is a strong distilled spirit containing approximately 37 per cent alcohol
per volume and is produced from the must-residue of the wine-press.
The name tsipouro is used throughout the country, except for Crete,
where the same spirit with a stronger aroma is known as tsikoudia.
Also the Oriental name raki is used, from which the term "rakizio"
is derived, used to refer to the drink's distillation process, which
usually turns into a huge celebration among family, friends and neighbours.

Turkish raki,
its traditional drink, is not the same drink as the Cretan one. In Turkey
raki was first produced from the residue of grapes left over from wine
making only. When a shortage of residue started, spirits from abroad
were imported and processed with aniseed.

In the near and
middle east countries the drink is known by different names such as
Araka, Araki, Ariki which obviously come from the same origin. Some
claim that it is called Iraqi (from Iraq) because it was first made
in this country and spread to other regions. Others say it got its name
from the razaki grapes used in producing it. Both theories are acceptable.
Another theory is that arak in Arabic means "sweat" and araki "that
which makes one sweat." If one drinks too much raki one does sweat sometimes
and when raki is being distilled it falls drop by drop like sweat, so
the name could have come from Arabic.

During the Turkish
occupation of Crete the name raki was given to the local tsikoudia,
since there were some similarities. Now both names are used in Crete
equally. The Turkish raki has a history going back 300 years. But it
all started much longer ago: famous coppersmiths from Armenia and the
Pont, who made nice decorated distilling vessels, confirmed the deep
knowledge of distillation in all the Byzantine empire.

History even goes
further back. The dietary habits of the ancient Minoans and the Myceneans
were apparently in conflict with the contemporary Mediterranean diet,
according to research conducted by scientists from Greece, Britain,
Italy and the United States. Examination of organic residue on ancient
pottery shows that the Minoan and Mycenean diet was mainly based on
meats and greens, while fish was on the bottom of their culinary preferences.
In addition, tsikoudia was a favourite drink with their meals.

Just a few years
ago, the admirable actions of some people helped in fortifying ouzo,
tsipouro, tsikoudia and the distillation of Corinthian currant as exclusive
Greek products. The European Union protects the following unique spirits
as being only original when coming from its original place: Cognac,
Brandy de Jerez, Grappa di Barolo, Berliner Kümmel, Genièvre Flandres
Artois, Scotch Whisky, Irish Whiskey, Tsikoudia from Crete.

The names of tsipouro,
tsikoudia and ouzo are and have been mixed up often. Ouzo is
being produced traditionally and exclusively in Greece. It belongs to
the "anise" category and has an aniseed flavour (aniseed is what gives
ouzo its trademark milky countenance when water is added). The indigenous
mastic (masticha) of Chios island, ginger, cinnamon and other aromatic
seeds, plants and fruits are all part of the distillation process, and
give ouzo its distinctive taste. Its main distinction from other similar
drinks lies with the traditional method of its flavouring.

The 1959 edition
of "The Times of Thessaly" provides an interesting anecdote of how ouzo
got its name. "During a visit to Thessaly in 1896, the late professor
Alexander Filadelfefs 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 Massalia" - Italian for 'to be used by
Marseilles'. One day, the Turkish consulate physician, named Anastas
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 Massalia, my friends' - refering to its high
quality. The term subsequently spread by word of mouth, until tsipouro
gradually became known as ouzo.

Tsikoudia is known
as zivania in Cyprus and souma in the Cycladic islands.

As with many gastronomic
delicacies, most alcoholic beverages have their roots in poverty. Tsipouro
and tsikoudia are produced in poor viniculture soil. Therefore, every
year after the vines are pruned, the vineyard provides wood for the
fireplace, grape leaves for cooking (the famous Greek "dolmades"), grapes
as a fruit or as a pastry and, of course, wine. Some of the grape must
is used to make molasses, which when combined with flour become must-jelly,
must-rolls as well as other well-known Greek pastries. When must is
made from grapes, the seeds, stems and grape-peels aren't thrown away,
rather they are distilled to produce tsipouro and tsikoudia, spirits
consumed for centuries in this part of the Mediterranean.

© Jarmila
Peskova Skranakova - Raki is made here, Lassithi

Grape-gathering,
wine-making and tsikoudia-making are activities enjoyed in the autumn
every year. Wine-making involves crushing the grapes in special stone
constructions called "patitiria", or wine presses. This can be
done by feet or with a small machinery. The remains in the patitiria,
after most of the grape juice has been removed, is allowed to ferment
and then is distilled. Traditional distilleries are comprised of large
copper boilers and include long copper funnels on top so that the steam
can escape. The funnels, which pass through barrels placed on the sides
of the distillation flask and are filled with cold water, end up on
the outside of the barrels, on top of empty glass containers. Herbage
is first placed on the bottom of the boilers which are then filled with
stemfila and a little water or wine, hermetically sealed and finally
placed onto the bonfires.

The hot steam passes
into the funnel and as it then travels through the barrel of cold water,
it condenses and liquidates. In approximately a half an hour, the warm
tsipouro begins to fall drop by drop, on the other side of the funnel,
into the glass containers. The liquid that first comes out of the funnel
cannot be consumed but is used for pharmaceutical purposes. However,
on Crete some people do drink it!

©
Paleochora-online.de

The final amount
of distilled liquid contains the least amount of alcohol, whereas the
actual tsikoudia is produced during the middle of the entire process.
This lasts for about three hours, during which the owners of the boilers
must taste for alcohol content, increase or decrease the heat and finally
stop distillation when the tsikoudia has acquired the desired taste.

For the production
of the tsikoudia two to three destillation processes are taking place
in copper caldrons. This way the distillate is protected from the smelly
substances of boiling and at the same time its sensitive aroma is preserved.

The entire process
becomes a celebration in which friends and relatives take part by bringing
food and sampling the drink as it is being made. Each step in the distillation
process has a particular ritual and the presence of friends is a must.

In some places of
Crete people make a variety of tsikoudia, called mournoraki.
This is coloured red and is distilled from mulberries. It is quite rare
and even more strong then tsikoudia. I had it offered twice in the village
of Anopoli, Sfakia region.

Raki distillery Kallikratis - © Wiltrud
Klundt Oct. 2003

Some tips
about drinking tsikoudia:

As a tourist coming
to Crete there is a 100% chance that more sooner then later you will
get offered at least 1 glass of tsikoudia. For new visitors this happens
usually after your first dinner in a restaurant or taverna. My experience
is: the more touristic the place is you visit, the more horrible is
the raki. Horrible raki is cheap, very good raki inexpensive. If you
are a local you usually get raki from friends or family, from their
own produce. Most Cretan families like this have several bottles, jerry
cans or even barrels with raki of different origin and taste. Only if
you are a friend of the family and/ or are invited in a private house
you have the chance to taste this. And there's where you can start to
like it.

Luckily there are
also very nice public places where they serve good raki. Like with most
spirits, but this applies certainly to raki, never drink it on an empty
stomach. Have it after your meal or have it accompanied by small snacks.
If you are not used to spirits or have a weak stomach: drink water after
each sip. Never mix raki with another drink. Once you start to
drink raki, leave it with raki that time, so do not change to wine or
beer after. This will make you very drunk and experience a severe hangover
after.

A few glasses of
raki can make your head very clear, an effect which to my opinion is
unique to it. After you get to sleep it may happen you have special
'raki dreams', which can be more vivid then life: it feels like you
are awake and very special things happen to you.

If you do not like
to drink an offered raki: do not drink it and leave the glass full.
An empty glass is a sign to your hosts that you liked it and they happily
will fill it again. However, after the forth glass you will not mind
anymore and may start to like it, eventually start to love it!

When that happens,
as a foreign guest, you might have a problem: it's practically impossible
to buy raki outside Crete. And if you find it anyway it is bottled raki,
maybe from a factory, and this will most likely taste like a factory
and not like good raki.

So you might get
interested in buying some on the spot, for the long and cold winter.
For this: wait until the last day of your stay. If you have been
a guest
for some time in 1 place (a week or longer) it can happen that your
host will give you a bottle for present! If not, and if you like
his
raki, you can ask if it is possible to buy some from him. It will depend
on his stock and his mood if this is possible. Please note that you're
not in a shop! It can happen that he just has a private stock of
some
liters, given by his family. It can also happen he has enough and bought
it from a personally selected still. In huge quantities a normal
price
for him would be Euro 3 to the kilo (raki is measured in Crete
in kilos, not in litres). A fair price for you would be at least Euro
5.

If possible, carry
your raki back home in a plastic container, like an empty table water
bottle (0,75 or 1,5 litres) or a more endurable plastic Cola bottle.
Keep this in your hand luggage if you travel by plane!

For those of you
who do not have enough with 1 bottle: as long as you live in the
European
Community it is now allowed by customs to take back home 10 kilos of
raki per person as a maximum (or 40 litres of wine or 120 litres
of
beer...) free of charge. If you plan to take this maximum: in many
Cretan shops there are plastic jerrycans available. Very handy are
the 12 litres ones (about Euro 4) and more convenient are
the 5 litres ones (Euro 3). Try to find one no heigher than 30 centimetres:
this will fit under the chair in front of you in the plane, so it
can
stay upright.

It
can happen that you wake up with a serious hangover. But normally raki
will only give you one because you really had too much of it, since
it is very clean. If you happen to have a terrible one: a Cretan might
advise you to 'take the hair of the dog (that bit you)', meaning to
have 1 raki before breakfast... It's up to you, but I've heard
it helps.

Furthermore,
raki is claimed to be a medicine for many ordinary diseases, like a
cold or a headache or diarrea.

And
to conclude: if you stay in a nice place and are in for a crazy night:
invite the table with locals next to you for a round of raki. In non-touristic
places in Crete a glass of raki is about Euro 0,80.