Ouzo it is generally considered poor form to drink ouzo "dry hammer" ("ξεροσφύρι", "xerosfýri", an idiomatic expression that means "drinking alcohol without eating anything") in Greece. The presence of food, especially fats or oils, in the upper digestive system prolongs the absorption of ethanol and ameliorates alcohol intoxication. Ouzo is not used in many mainstream cocktail drinks, although in Cyprus it does form the basis of a cocktail called an Ouzini. Ouzo is a clear liquid. However, when water or ice is added, ouzo turns a milky-white colour. This is because anethole, the essential oil of anise, is completely soluble in
Ouzo effect Ouzo effect The ouzo effect (also louche or spontaneous emulsification) is a cloudy ("louche") oil-in-water emulsion that is formed when water is added to ouzo and other , such as pastis, rakı, arak, sambuca and absinthe. Such microemulsions occur with only minimal mixing and are highly stable. The ouzo effect occurs when a strongly hydrophobic essential oil such as "trans"-anethole is dissolved in a water-miscible solvent, such as ethanol, and the concentration of ethanol is lowered by addition of small amounts of water. Oil-in-water emulsions are not normally stable. Oil droplets coalesce until complete phase separation is achieved at macroscopic