Ouzo is a kefi-catalyst, and Lesvos produces some of
the finest
Ouzo drinking is an art. Or maybe it's a way of life. Whatever it is,
Lesvos is known for it's ouzo. Most cafe owners in Greece will admit that
the best ouzo comes from here and they probably carry one of the more
popular Mytilini brands. But it's not the ouzo but who you drink it with.
The key to drinking ouzo is to eat snacks known as
mezedes. These keep the effects of the alcohol from overwhelming you and
enable you to sit and drink slowly for hours in a profoundly calm state of
mind where all is beautiful and life is fine. In the villages where life
is slow ouzo is partaken day or night. On Sundays after church the
cafeneons are full of lively voices and singing, including sometimes the
village priest. In many cafeneons the cooking is done by men, but in some
it is a woman who does the cooking and serving and acts as den mother to
the old men who come around each day. She knows their likes and dislikes,
favorite seats and personal history.
In the cafeneons ouzo is served with a meze included
for about a dollar a glass. The mezedes can be anything from a salad,
stewed meat and vegetables, sardeles pastes, koukia (beans), sweetbreads,
meatballs, cheese, sausage, fried fish or whatever the specialty of that
cafeneon is that day. Eat and drink slowly and enjoy the journey. The cafe
owners are always good cooks and in many places it is almost like a
competition who has the best mezedes.
If you should be lucky enough to meet someone who
makes his own ouzo watch out. Though they call it ouzo it is really raki
or tsipuro and does not have that licorice flavor one associates with
ouzo. It is made in homemade stills and goes down smooth but it's effects
are rapid and powerful. But one glass won't hurt and two is even better.
Ouzo is a kefi-catalyst, and Lesvos produces some of
the finest
