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 off in the beginning of the 19th century following Greek independence. The first ouzo distillery was founded in Tyrnavos in 1856 by Nikolaos Katsaros,
Ouzo as the Greek drinks "tsipouro" and "tsikoudia", as products with a Protected Designation of Origin, which prohibits European makers other than Greece and Cyprus from using the name. There is an ouzo museum in Plomari, Lesvos. The origin of the name "ouzo" is disputed. A popular derivation is from the Italian "uso Massalia"—"for use in Marseille"—stamped on selected silkworm cocoons exported from Tyrnavos in the 19th century. According to anecdote, this designation came to stand for "superior quality", which the spirit distilled as ouzo was thought to possess. During a visit to Thessaly in 1896, the late professor Alexander Philadelpheus