Ouzo "This is "uso Massalia", my friends"—referring to its high quality. The term subsequently spread by word of mouth, until "tsipouro" gradually became known as ouzo. However, the major Greek dictionaries derive it from the Turkish word "üzüm" 'grape'. Ouzo production begins with distillation in copper stills of 96% alcohol by volume (ABV) rectified spirit. Anise is added, sometimes with other flavorings such as star anise, fennel, mastic, cardamom, coriander, cloves, and cinnamon. The flavoring ingredients are often closely guarded company "recipes", and distinguish one ouzo from another. The result is a flavored alcoholic solution known as "flavored ethyl alcohol", or
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