ouzo

rangaz · Post by **rangaz** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:09 am

cant seem to find the recipe for ouzo anywhere on the parent site or the forums and even the section on arak is quite vague on details. is the arak just fermented from grape then soaked with star anise and distilled? does the wash even have to be grapes? what is added to the ouzo to make it different from arak? and finally, is sambucca different from ouzo, or is it a type of ouzo like tequilla is like mezcal?

Post by **Tater** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:54 am

Try search on this fourm.Best I can remember seems someone posted something about it a while back

Marionette · Post by **Marionette** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:07 am

Stay away from star anise!

I've never made it, but if I recall correctly, most ouzo bought in shops is vodka with added anise extracts. Higher quality distilled ouzo is still made in some places, and could probably be made by macerating green anise in alcohol and then distilling.

Arak is made with two distillation stages, the first is the distillation of the fermented grapes as you mentioned, and then distilled to produce an alcohol-base with which green anise is macerated in and then distilled a second time.

I know there are people here who have knowledge of anise-based drinks who can help further.

An addendum: I've just looked at the wikipedia article on arak, and it explains the process.

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:39 am

Yeah. Do stay away from star anise. It's OK as an addition to anise drinks to sort of fill out the flavor, but on it's own, it's nasty crap. It's only used in cheaper anise drinks because it's inexpensive.

I'm not sure of exact ouzo recipes, but my understanding is that the brands and some of the homemade ouzos you can get in Greece are actually fairly complex, showing a wide range of flavors. Most likely, your base spices are always going to be anise and fennel, though.

Sambuca is not a type of ouzo at all, but is, in fact, its own drink entirely. It's an elderberry liqueur that uses anise as a complement to the flavor of the elderberries.

rangaz · Post by **rangaz** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:37 am

what is added to the sambucca to thicken it then? I've had sambucca a few times and just wanted to make something similar, more like an aniseed syrupy drink rather than an exact replica. what should be used for the anise flavour instead of the star anise

Marionette · Post by **Marionette** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:51 am

Green anise (possibly sold as aniseed) is what you need. The syrupiness of sambuca is probably from added sugar. I wouldn't say ouzo and sambuca are comparable.

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 8:17 am

Are you hoping for something like an anisette or something like a sambuca? If you want an anisette, all you have to do is mix anise extract into vodka and sweeten with simple syrup. Sambuca is flavored with the addition of elderberries.

Here is a recipe for a Sambuca, though I can't speak for how good it is, and here is a recipe for an elderberry liqueur. I'd say start with those two recipes as your base of reference and then start experimenting. That's what I do.

Post by **Tater** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:10 pm

post was about ouzo wasnt it?

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 5:13 pm

It was, until the guy who started it said he actually wanted to make sambuca. I thought it would be helpful to point him in the direction of a sambuca recipe.

Post by **Tater** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:30 pm

So sambuca and ouzo taste similer? Ive tryed ouzo.

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:35 pm

Both are anise drinks, but I'd doubt the taste is really all that similar.

Watershed · Post by **Watershed** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 12:43 am

Ouzo isn't sweetened for a start and contains a hell of a lot more anisole. From what I remember there's at least 100g of aniseed ( not star anise ) per litre in an ouzo maceration.

I've played with star anise - it gives a rather bitter, woody edge by itself.

rangaz · Post by **rangaz** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:49 am

sorry bout the confusion. Ive tried and liked sambucca but not ouzo. them both being aniseed flavoured drinks i assumed they were almost the same and got terms confused. also thought star anise was the ingredient used for flavour and was an alternate name for aniseed.
ill have to do a bit of experimenting now.
thanks

KatoFong · Post by **KatoFong** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:17 am

Star anise can be used as a component, but shouldn't be used as a subsitute for green anise (the stuff you find in Italian anisette cookies). It has a coarser flavor than the green anise, which tends to be fairly soft in taste. In absinthe, star anise is used to fill out the flavor and to increase the louche (the clouding effect when water is added), but go with green anise and elderberries as your base flavors. I doubt you'll regret it.