Chef
Zipouro is a traditional liquor produced in the Greek city of Arachova, located in the southern region of Thessaly. This liqueur can be difficult to obtain outside of Greece, where it is a regional delicacy, and some people substitute zipouro for raki or ouzo if they have trouble finding it. It can also be written as “tsipouro”, by the way, reflecting the difficulties involved in translating the Greek alphabet into the Roman alphabet.
This liquor is classified as brandy with pomace, which means that it is made with wine with pomace. Orujo wine is a wine made from the bark, seeds, leaves and other remains of the crushing. It tends to be of inferior quality as a wine, but can be an excellent base for brandies, which are made by distilling wine pomace. Many nations have a tradition of making brandy from pomace, ensuring that every part of the grape harvest is used. Zipouro has an alcohol content of around 45%, which makes it a formidable liqueur.
Records suggest that pomace wine distillations have been performed in Greece since at least the 14th century. Supposedly, distilled beverages were developed by monks, who wanted to find a use for bagasse and came up with the idea of distilling it. After distillation, the bagasse can be used as a fertilizer, while the distilled beverage can be consumed or used to make medicinal tinctures.
Like ouzo, a much more famous distilled spirit from Greece, zipouro has an anise-like flavor and can be served hot or cold, depending on the weather, and is often diluted with water to reduce the alcohol content. Cold zipouro is used as a refreshing drink in summer, while hot zipouro can warm the body after working outdoors in winter, especially during rain and snow. Normally, zipouro is heated by mixing it with warm water, which turns it milky; otherwise zipouro is usually light.
Zipouro is rarely consumed on its own. The consumption of distilled spirits usually takes place on social occasions in Greece and is accompanied by meze, or “small plates”, plates of light appetizers such as olives, stuffed grape leaves, bread, almonds, cheese, etc. Zipouro can also be consumed after dinner with desserts such as baklava, with the live liquor cutting through the sweetness of the baklava and leaving a nice finish.