Greece’s drinking culture is as refined as it is ancient. The indigenous Greek drinks – tsipouro, ouzo, and tsicoudia – have special status in Greek culture, with customs and social rituals attached.
Two of the traditional Greek drinks – tsipouro and tsikoudia (“raki”) – thrive in small-scale production, bringing people closer to the land and to their neighbors with the ritual distilling parties – “Kazani” in the case of tsipouro, and “Kazanemata” in the case of Crete’s raki.
Traditional Greek alcoholic drinks are never consumed alone. First, they’re enjoyed with meze – small dishes and piquant bites meant to temper the effects of the alcohol and, more importantly, keep people at the table together longer. That brings us to the second, and much more central, point – Greeks always drink with good company and conversation.
