Ouzo Recipe
Greece's anise spirit, served with cold water that clouds it to a milky opal.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 20%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Ouzo50 ml (1.7 oz)
- Cold water50 ml (1.7 oz)
How to Make It
- Pour the ouzo into a tall narrow glass.
- Add an equal amount of chilled water and watch it turn cloudy white.
- Add ice if you like, always after the water.
- Serve with meze and sip slowly.
Garnish
Serve with ice and meze on the side
What it tastes like
It hits hard.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Cold water
- Seeing it in a recipe is not a mistake: in spirit-forward drinks, measuring the dilution instead of leaving it to the ice is what makes the result repeatable.
The Story
A pillar of Greek table culture, sipped slowly with meze in ouzeries rather than downed as a shot.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Ouzo mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Ouzo?
- Roughly 20% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Ouzo be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Ouzo hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.