Ouzo

[Watershed]

I'd like to try making some. From one of my spirits books I've found out that it takes around 100g of spices per litre of spirit. The main spices are Aniseed, star anise and fennel.
Any ideas on proportions and quantities for the minor spices in it?

Watershed

[KatoFong]

I'd personally go with 200 g on the anise. 100 is going to leave you with a kind of insipid flavor. I'd do 200 g anise, 100 g fennel, 50 g star anise.

[Watershed]

For maceration in 1l of uncut spirit? It would work out cheaper just to buy the ouzo. Well, I can grow anise and fennel. Looks like it'll wait until harvest next year.

[jbrew9999]

I'd personally go with 200 g on the anise. 100 is going to leave you with a kind of insipid flavor. I'd do 200 g anise, 100 g fennel, 50 g star anise.

Is that fresh or dried?
Dried spices have much more flavor for the same mass.

[Billy Joe Jim Bob]

Hi Gang: Has any one tried any of the ouzo flavorings? I tried the spiced rum and southern comfort flavorings and to me they tasted about the same. Is the Ouzo any good, or should that just be left alone?..BJJB

[Watershed]

I might give one a try but I have my suspicions - given the amount of oil present in ouzo ( ever put a bottle in the freezer - it makes a great snowstorm) I can't see a small bottle of essence having enough in it unless it's artificaly flavoured.

I'm not sure I'd trust any of those essences - they even do ones for 'unseasoned potato schnapps' and 'A high quality vodka made from the finest ingredients. Each bottle flavours 70cl of alcohol.'
Given that a good vodka should be almost but not quite neutral I can't imagine what's in them, probably more pixie dust,

[KatoFong]

The last time I checked, you can get about an entire pound of anise for roughly five dollars if you know where to look. The same is true with fennel. I know that the place I get my star anise from, it costs about 50 cents an ounce. Which is roughly a buck fifty for 150 g. That's not terribly expensive. And that's dried spices I'm talking about, whole seed.

But if you're looking for cheap ouzo, you're better off buying it every time. Ouzo is typically distilled (and I presume macerated) three times before it's bottled. And distilling with herbs is always time-consuming because it has to be done slowly and carefully. So, if it's cheap and easy you want, just buy a bottle. That's what I'd do (I work in a Greek part of town, so it's fairly cheap and readily available...tasty, too...)

For maceration in 1l of uncut spirit? It would work out cheaper just to buy the ouzo. Well, I can grow anise and fennel. Looks like it'll wait until harvest next year.

[Watershed]

Cheap and easy - if I wanted that I'd never have started distilling. I like doing things that take forever, have no guarantee of success and require a huge amount of effort. ( I did just make my own vodka starting from bare earth ). I'll track down a larger volume supplier next time I'm near the market.
I'll make my own ouzo eventually, or blow up the kitchen in the attempt,
cheers
Watershed

[Billy Joe Jim Bob]

Hi Gang: Just fer laughs, I got one of them Still Spirits Ouzo flavor additive thingies. The directions say it will flavor 3-750 ml bottles. Nope! It'll only do 2. The flavor is very dry and not sweet at all. I tried adding honey, but it really didn't improve much. I guess it's not bad if you are desperate for Ouzo, it's just not my cup of tea....BJJB

[kazanas]

Here is the recipy for the Greek OUZO

Ingredients
17 liters neutral 40% ABV
350 gr dried seed in total( 150 gr anise, 100gr star anise, 100gr fennel)
500 gr white sugar


Drop the seeds in your neutral and leave it for 48 hours stiring it now and then.
Run it in a pot still slowly ,with the seeds.
Take out the first 2% (350 ml) as feints
Collect the rest till 60 % ABV as hearts
Continue till 20% as tails for the next run
Now you must have a total of 70 % ABV of hearts
Dilute with spring water till 40% ABV
Drop in the sugar and stir well untill no sugar is seen.
Leave it for a day or two and taste it
No need for aging.

NOTICE
Dry seeds must not exceed 20 gr per litre of 40% Abv because after that point, anetol is crystalized
You can try different amounts of seeds, less anise or more star anise, it's up to your taste, but in total must not exceed 20 gr per litre
40 % ABV is the best volume to extract the most anetol from the seeds
Sugar must not exceed 30 gr per litre
Try it with an ice cube in your glass, it's milky
Have fun

[Woodsy71]

Kazanas, your recipe is spot on, thankyou. I've been making it for years, then lost /forgot the recipe. Now I've found it again, I realised I never thanked you.

Yamas, mate!

[ThomasBrewer]

Jesse from Still It did a video on his experiments with Ouzo.

[NZChris]

Jesse from Still It did a video on his experiments with Ouzo.

Before you take what he says in the video as being good advice, be aware that this is a Youtube of someone having his first try at making Ouzo, not of an old hand with a great recipe who has been making it for years. I don't know that removing a foreshot is desirable, or that shutting down at an ABV, or by taste, is the best way to decide when to finish the run, neither of which I have done.

That said, it is pretty hard to get it wrong and make an unpleasant Ouzo.

[Bryan1]

I make my own version which if I go by everyone that has tasted it aint a bad drop

5 litres of 40% neutral hearts of hearts
100 grams of star of anise crushed
150 grams of crushed dried licorice root ( home grown)
50ml of black pepper spirit
30ml of cinnamon spirit

Let it macerate for a week stirring everyday then run thru a pot still nice and slow. Let the cuts age for 2 days so the angels can have a taste then after cuts decanter down to 40%.

for the spirits added I made some tinctures then ran them thru my glass still to get the true spirit and a small amount does go along way for spirit flavour

Cheers Bryan

[jonnys_spirit]

I love making some ouzo, rakki, sambucca style. I’ll vary up the botanicals to keep it interesting and use brandy or grappa as the base spirit.

Cheers!
-j