Ouzo after the Greek city of Mystras in the Peloponnese is a version of ouzo made in Rome that closely resembles Greek and Cypriot ouzo. Ouzo Ouzo (, ) is a dry anise-flavoured aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like "rakı", pastis and sambuca. Ouzo has its roots in "tsipouro", which is said to have been the work of a group of 14th-century monks on Mount Athos. One version of it was flavoured with anise. This version eventually came to be called ouzo. Modern ouzo distillation largely took
Ouzo more commonly as "ouzo yeast"—"μαγιά ούζου" in Greek—the term for "yeast" being used by Greeks metaphorically to denote that it serves as the starting point for ouzo production. The "ouzo yeast" is then distilled. After several hours of distillation, a flavored distillate of approximately 80 ABV (% Alcohol By Volume) is produced. The spirit at the beginning of the distillation (heads) and end (tails) is usually removed to avoid light and heavy alcohols and aromatics. The heads and tails are usually mixed and distilled again. The product of this second distillation can be used to produce a different quality ouzo.