This spirit, which is protected within the EU, is one of the best-known alcoholic drinks in Greece and is considered the national drink there. The name is presumably derived from the Turkish "üzüm" (bunch of grapes or grape juice). The history of ouzo production dates back to the 19th century, when merchant families from Asia Minor (Turkey) settled on Lesbos and began producing the distillate in stills made of bronze or copper. These influenced today's ouzo production. The popularity of ouzo increased enormously after the Greek-Turkish War in 1922.
Ouzo was exported to France flavoured with aniseed. It was exported to the port of Marseille in wooden crates with the Italian inscription "Uso di Massillia" (meaning "for use in Marseille"). According to a second version, the name was derived from this. And according to a third version, it is a corruption of the ancient Greek verb "ozo" ("I smell") or "ou zo" ("I do not live" - meaning "I cannot live without ouzo"). In the past, it was produced by double distillation of the press residue, so it was a pomace spirit like grappa or marc.
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