These Botanicals + Alcohol Make OUZO

[@Bga1412]

We usually leave the bottle in the freezer before drinking. It crystallizes and it's a bit smoother. Also really good infused in a watermelon, leave in the fridge for a few hours

[@kingdarkem]

The difference between the two is that of the fennel seed. Guarantee you the one you liked is made with star anise, anise seed, and licorice root. When the greeks use fennel seed there is always more spices like cardamom, ginger, corriander, nutmeg, and angelica providing a complex secondary/background flavor that inter mingles with the star anise, anise seed, and licorice root.

[@humanonearth1]

I'm going to guess the Greeks didn't make good spirit and certainly didn't lean in to the plethora of spices you list, in their food and likewise in their spirit. Great philosophy etc... but ya spices no.

[@kingdarkem]

@@humanonearth1 your free to think that but I have a bit of inside knowledge.

[@humanonearth1]

@@kingdarkem Ginger in Hellenistic cuisine? I think if anything those spices you list are coming from Asia minor. Greek food is very mild spice-wise.

[@kingdarkem]

@@humanonearth1 those spices were commonly traded. The spice trade between Asia and Europe is well known. Introduced by the Arabs with documentation dating between 24-90 AD roughly with pliny the elder and appearing in Pedanius Dioscorides the most prolific of Greek writers with regards to plants.

[@humanonearth1]

@@kingdarkem Sure, they traded and acquired everything on that route, slaves, prepubescent boy lovers, including the art of distillation itself. However, you still don't see those spices very prominent in Greek cuisine. Especially ginger.

[@belo2999]

In Greece a lot of people drink it long with just water: a few friends, a bottle of Ouzo on the table, tall glasses, ice and lots of water is a great way to spend an Aegean afternoon. Water really brings out the sweetness. Tip: Using a magnetic stirrer for only an hour instead of a lengthy maceration works very well for this recipe. Also I use way more aniseed (3x) than that to balance out the Star Anise.

[@hughgrection7246]

Canadian here , and that's exactly how I enjoy my Ouzo as well. I prefer one to four parts Ouzo to ice cold water. As you say , it REALLY brings out the sweetness in almost a juice like way .

[@alexcharlton9010]

Great video, as always. For those interested, here's a few ingredients you could also add (that I personally use) that will make it more rounded, like cinnamon, cardamom pods and cloves.

[@lockguy2652]

Just a word of caution with noom. They have been dinged for unsavory billing practices here in the states . I ended up canceling and finally getting a refund. Might of even had a class action I believe. I hope it works for those using it but stay on top of billing.

[@FrontYardGardener]

I’ve suggested before, if you macerate each botanical separately you could blend the end product.

[@perjessen5209]

In Greece, traditionally, ouzo or tsipouro is always consumed with ice and virtually always together with food, most often mezes. Never in coffee or anything else :-)

[@annakingsley6773]

'Wobbly'. Mrs Still It just nails spirit descriptions so well. Have a great trip to the US - looking forward to seeing what you got up to over there whisky wise. 😊

[@ARCSTREAMS]

thats why lebanese national drink Arak is the best made strictly from grape(blanc Obeidi or Merwah) alc and aniseed(from hermoun best aniseed in the world) ,no bs fillers at 50-53% and aged for 2 years in clay amphora jars, best ones are ksarak(beeka valley also make good wine) and ghantous abou raad

[@gerrycarmichael1391]

My grandfather used to put it in espressos coffee. Also you can pour it straight onto fresh sliced strawberries with a little sugar sprinkled on it! Enjoy!

[@S_goldman_]

He put ouzo in coffee? 😮

[@gerrycarmichael1391]

@@S_goldman_ sure! It's quite good and common in the Mediterranean.

[@samwuijster7150]

Adding crushed to dust aniseed will add another layer. Also adding in the green ones like in the absinthe will add extra flavor!

[@ARCSTREAMS]

amazing you done it like that because i have too, one time an old italian gent who had large carboy vats of red and white wine that was going kinda sour was looking to get it distilled for brandy, i took the task for him and saved me a few bottles and i macerated fenel seeds instead of anis seeds over night and re distilled it,, the aroma and sweetness it had was awesome even though my uncle knew right away this was not anise seed ,he could not make out and said it was strange to him but he knew better lol anyways it was still a wild fun good concoction

[@mrt7152]

Plomari is the one you should try. Loved most by the Greek and me I am not Greek though.

[@transplantinnz2716]

Always a treat to hear Mrs. Still It’s opinions! I notice you aren’t using the spout on the Air Still. I put copper mesh in mine. It must do something, because it gets discolored. My plan is to get the gin basket attachment and put copper in it in order so the vapor gets to pass by some copper, too.

[@timklieber6085]

Love this. Just did a star anise, fennel and mace maceration and it was delicious (the mace flavor additions were wonderful and suprising). Have you thought about having a go at making a Green Chartreuse clone?

[@AhhZrulz]

I love Sambuca, I am definitely going to try this.

[@jimbeam8454]

Jolly good ! It's a brave man that can make his own ouzo ! Cheers, , UK

[@JazzFM80]

Brilliant! My mum used to drink it with raspberry fizzy in the 80s.. Called it a jellybean!? Time it made a comeback!

[@Brambo76]

Hello, I will try to make it myself, using your video as a guideline. I wanted to ask, before you put the alcohol and spices in the small distiller, did you mix it with water to like 40%? (I was told to always do that for a second run) Or dit you put the whole liter of 90% alcohol in the distiller without any added water?? Please let me know. I ordered a small distiller so as soon as it comes in I will try this. 😁 Thnx for the info, keep those video’s coming. 👍🏻

[@kb2vca]

Ouzo, YES! Just made me some spirits last night from some whey wine (800 ml at 65 % ABV 130 p) so will be adding some star anise and going from there. Thanks for the idea.

[@weaktearecords]

Great video, definitely try it in coffee, it's incredible! I also added a peice of roasted pecan wood to the bottle (before sugar), it really rounded out the flavor. It is incredible in coffee ☕, somehow it just makes the coffe taste stronger and no longer tastes like licorice.

[@islandlife7872]

The missus' honest opinion is always a pleasure! 😂

[@Krullmatic]

I've been binging your channel. I love you man, you're freakin' awesome!

[@buffalowings5962]

Jessy, I know this is not on topic of this video. But I've had the worst time distinguishing heads from hearts. My palette is not the best. But as soon as you said on another video fake apple smell and taste, I got it. Thank you so much!

[@wiseguysoutdoors2954]

For me it was the stale cereal/ wet cardboard odor. Not as strong as in the tails, but still seems to be present. The heads have that acetone odor for me as well after what usually is the heads/foreshots, I fingertip test until I don't notice anything odd. George, from Barley and Hops had a really good method. Heat the still to 148° F and level it out at 166°F to 168°F and hold it there for 10 minutes. Foreshots start to come off at 148 and heads are all off after that 10 minutes at 166 ‐ 168. After that, keep everything, until the tails show up.

[@thusmarshal8815]

Your best video ever cause I'm Greek and I love ouzo I've tried it for the first time when I was 5 and tsipouro another drink is also nice with a herb called aniseed or a bit of opium in it. But keep it up man always great videos out of ya.

[@rossnesbitt972]

Another great piece of content! Appreciate the nod to 'Irish up' your coffee, thank you! Let us know how that goes! After watching I am finally going to have a go at macerating a batch or two! Being the only person I know locally with this hobby, you have been an incredible source of knowledge and information (you sir, are firmly my goto guy for all things 'still). I'll be sure to Patreon and merch up as soon as I can (too much month at the end of the money 😉), you deserve my money and gratitude! Keep up the amazing work my friend.

[@patricioarte]

Delicious drink recipe with "Ouzo" called "Thalassa" (Goddess of the Mediterranean sea, meaning sea in Greek): A shot of "Ouzo" or anise liqueur, a shot of vodka, top up with pineapple juice. Serve in a Margarita or Martini glass with ice cubes or frozen ice. Spread half a dose of "Blue Curaçao" on top and add an orange slice for decoration.

[@tomguitaronline]

I made ouzo years ago fermented canned peaches first then ran through the still, jared it with the spices etc. I cut it to 130 proof and it was very smooth but yet not like Sambuca which is what i was going for. I contacted someone from the distillery Sambuca colfelice i think south of Roma. I was surprised to get a reply, i didnt get their formula or actual amounts etc but they mentioned using glycerin which adds thickness.

[@DenisMartin72]

Mrs still it is awesome as always!

[@thedon2512]

I’ve done something similar, made rum and added aniseed not star anise but left it in for a week or more, I REALLY enjoyed it, but not everyone who tasted it because a bunch of people despise the liquorice flavour which I never would have guessed, just a pity I didn’t make enough or notes to reproduce, silly me, Anyway I will give it a go, I bought a similar 4 in 1 mini airstill so I should have similar results, But have to say, mine scorched before with the fermentation process that went wrong

[@totoriton9260]

Hello. Very good recipe. I like it!!!! I'd let 2 weeks of maceration. Is it enough ?

[@T.Mitcbree]

How many ml did you recover from your 1 litre of 40ABV neutral? As a guide you tossed 30ml but what volume above the 55cut off. 👍🏼🇦🇺

[@miroslavivanov6426]

I used your receipt and then change it a bit. With 9-9-6 (increasing the star anise) and breaking stars it become more fragrant. also i am using 50% alcohol and not 40.

[@littlehills739]

i didnt re distill after soaking for two days. its amber but lushes out fine. dry ginger mixer

[@Zumaray]

Jessie what difference would it make to macerate the botanicals in 91% alcohol (ethanol)? Wouldn’t it extract more oils? This is what you do with Absinthe.

[@thejodybotha]

Hi Jesse, love spending Saturday mornings edutaining myself on your very insightful vids on Your channel, as a new stiller with a T500 i was wondering if you could perhaps answer a question? is it possible to make an almost commercial grade clear/white sambuca using only a sugar wash with a botanical basket filled with Star Anise , cinnamon ,cardamom and peppercorns on the T500 (saddles removed) and still get the strong sambuca flavor after adding a simple syrup solution to the collected hearts without stilling twice? effectively i could not get stock of the air still originally to try this and am undecided if i am willing to invest in a botanicals basket as gin is not necessary of interest at this stage, please let us know your thoughts? , if you looking for the botanical recipe i am aiming on using 25g star anise , 5 cardamom pods, 1 stick of cinnamon, 5 pepper corns per every 3.5L of 14% sugar wash to produce roughly 500ml of under 85% ABV hearts to a 1:1 simple syrup solution to water the mixture down to about 35~40% ABV

[@robflange]

I add liquorice root as well but only a tiny bit Its very powerful

[@dreamlandwithus4524]

Can you mix the star aneese and fennel seed to the vodka wash before distilling and get the same result rather than mixing the star aneese and fennel seed to distilled vodka.

[@rogerphillips8060]

Jesse, the french have a version called crystal its very similar to greek stuff but it just tastes cleaner and less sweet i thought, i will be giving this recipe a go, great vid mate thznks

[@scottclay4253]

Interesting as always, Jesse! Great to see Mrs. Still it. Your tasting set looks classy by the way, well done! I am a big fan of Ouzo 12 and OJ! Hope you have a great time up here in the States.

[@peterkapinos277]

As in ouzo and orange juice combined in one drink?

[@scottclay4253]

@@peterkapinos277 Yes, I discovered it one morning at the ocean. We had done an ouzo tasting with 7 or 8 ouzos the night before. My sister-in-law had her bottle of orange juice out for breakfast. The thought hit me it might be an interesting combination, I tried it and loved it. Delicious to my taste!

[@StassBrewing]

Cheers Jesse, I had a run with Noom for a while but stopped after a while because I just could not be bothered logging and calorie counting my food. I read the book "A Fat Lot of Good" by Dr P Brukner and watched the lecture "Sugar, The Bitter Truth" by Robert Lustig and I can proudly say that I lost nearly 20kg from my 2020 heaviest point. No calorie counting. I am self maintaining my weight very easily also. Both books gave me the WHY we should/shouldn't eat certain foods. Similar to Nooms psychology stuff, but more science and no monthly subscription.

[@TheKruse601]

Awesome video. My absolute favourite spirit, next to Fernet Branca. Maybe in another video? 💪🏻

[@warrencourt7938]

Thank you for the video, I must give it a try.

[@alexpetsoglou9374]

Hi Jesse Thanks for your video Question who do you avoid louching when watering down. Out of the still is approx 85% ABV? Need to mix closer to 40% without louching. For obvious reasons Many thanks

[@MostlyInteresting]

Since this specially arranged air still only has 350 watts of input you might be hard-pressed to burn anything. However my air still is one of the standard ones with temperature control. And it has 750 watts of input. Haven't burned anything but I can only imagine that it would be easier on the initial heat up. Which of course my 750 watt does a lot faster than the 350 watts.

[@ArthurEKing8472]

The "next" things that I would have suggested trying? 2 Things. First: Adding Licorice Root. See what that can do to the flavour profile. Second: Wormwood. (As a bittering agent) To try and replicate Absynthe.

[@peterkapinos277]

Wormwood is nuclear bittering. As a experiment, I added a bit to a masala tea and for the next brew had to more than half the amount. Good ideas.

[@samwuijster7150]

Would you wanna make a batch of absinthe also?

[@richardharris5083]

Looked forward to this video for a while . What did you proof it down to ??

[@dougbish5533]

Something similar to consider, a Romana sambuca. Preferably the black as it's insanely smooth and delicious.

[@ordinarygolfer4342]

How much did you get out of the original liter? Tnx

[@other_dave]

Really love the breadth of spirits you make. Would you consider making Aquavit?

[@pgprentice]

I had a similar issue when trying to make Sambuca. The commercial one was "thicker" like in more syrupy. Cheers

[@KingKarlTNT]

They add stuff after like Xanthan Gum which is a thickener

[@silveraven1]

So would you maybe add more botanicals or just leave as it is next time?

[@andyn3532]

I did something similar with star anise and shredded liquorice root

[@mehmetgirit8701]

The grassy flavor is very normal in the young spirit. All commercial distillers rest the product for some time before bottling to avoid that flavour. Lebanese even go for 5 to 7 years for their premium Araks. Also there is no additional sugar in the traditional recipe since anise seed is quite sweet. Fennel seeds are a later addition by the Greeks when anise seeds are not available regionally.

[@ediekharkongor7075]

Hi i your work .... and I have been experimenting for my self but after formenting it smells really bad and I could not find a way to get rit of that smell ... could you give me some tips

[@tomguitaronline]

Have you ever used glycerin during any process? Thanks, tom

[@ledzep331]

Strangely I love black liquorice (I should coming from West Yorkshire, it was once a centre of liquorice cultivation) but never really licked drinks like ouzo or Pernod. Might give something similar a try but with mainly liquorice and angelica root in the maceration.

[@Sunny-jz3dy]

Have you ever tried toasting the seeds first? Just wondering how much it would change the flavor profile.

[@pjoter2243]

I was drinking this in Greece. Now I know how to make it. White and hazy 🤍🤍

[@digschopper9321]

What would one use as mash for traditional ouzo, beginning to end?

[@jacksonbeavis]

Is Raki the same as Ouzo?

[@ardabasar4641]

No..The difference between ouzo and raki is that ouzo is sweeter and more aromatic as a result of added spices and is produced more from sugar beets than grapes.. uzo is greek raki is turkish and we have olso mastika from bulgaria

[@TheBlueWizardOfWestVirginia]

Thanks for the inspiration, I'll be doing this with my lo shui spices and see what happens

[@mustavertwang]

Excellent!

[@peterkapinos277]

Thanks for posting this. I will give it a whirl. All I use is the air still so it is good to know I can attempt a run with botanicals in it. I have learned a lot from your work! Question, and it can be PM'd to me - what is the highest ABV I can put into the pot to boil? I have heard 40% for safety, but for efficiency, sometimes I'd like to do a 55-70%. Contrarily, I don't want an explosion or dangerousness lurking about. Any pointers?

[@GirishManjunathMusic]

You could try it with some actual liquorice-root next time, maybe? At least in my city you can get dried licuorice-root as a medicinal herb. We use it in some of our cooking too.

[@Schoolofmonkey]

Liquorice root adds a slight bitterness to the drink, I was adding it to the prior Star Anise recipe, it doesn't add much of the liquorice flavor, but does all a slight different liquorice bitterness, it's not bad, my wife loves it like that. Never hurts to take Jesse's recipes and tweak them for yourself.

[@GirishManjunathMusic]

@@Schoolofmonkey oh wow liquorice in alcohol makes it more bitter? Liquorice root in my water-based dishes makes it sweeter. Or are we talking about two different plants that happen to have the same English name?

[@Schoolofmonkey]

@@GirishManjunathMusic Yep liquorice root, run through the air still after soaking, try it, you'll see what I mean.

[@johnblack9582]

THANKS FOR THIS JESSIE, IVE WANTED TO MAKE OUZO FOR AGES :) USING MY REFRACTOMETER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DISTILLING TODAY, ITS ABOUT 3% HIGHER THAN THE ALCOMETER, MINE LOOKS TO BE A DIFFERENT BRAND TO YOURS.. ALSO I DID USE THE REFRACTOMETER ON JIM BEAM, IT CAME IN AT 39%, 1% LOWER THAN ITS SUPPOSE TO BE, NEXT TIME I BUY BEAM ILL USE THE ALCOMETER ON IT, BUT TODAY, IM DRINKING 65% CORNFLAKES WHISKY WATERED DOWN TO TASTE WITH COKE, WATER JUST RUINS IT I RECKON :)

[@Schoolofmonkey]

You need to calibrate your refractometer, should of come with instructions on how to do so. I calibrated it using 2 alcohmeters and the same neutral, both alchometers read 45%, used the same on the refractometer adjusted it the same value. A refractometer is also effected by temps of the liquid, so using the same alcohol will give a accurate results across them all, well within 1-2%, or "margin of error".

[@johnblack9582]

@@Schoolofmonkey thanks mate, i'll have a go at that :) i messed up in my first post, jim beam is 37% i was getting mixed up with wild turkey which is 40.5%, so my refractometer must be 2% high. i like this thing, better than using the alcometer all the time :)

[@CraigLYoung]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@cobydenny6247]

Any updates on the Honey-shine good sir?

[@humanonearth1]

What's your position on smearing with such a small charge in that airstill?

[@MortRotu]

If you're starting with a neutral spirit (like you did here) do you still need to take off the heads & tails or would you be alright, flavours permitting, to use the whole run?

[@infernaldaedra]

4:20 You can but heads carries over some other chemicals so it's always a good Idea to leave out a little to save the flavor.

[@MortRotu]

@@infernaldaedra so there wouldn't be any methanol etc to worry about? It'd literally be to your taste?

[@infernaldaedra]

@@MortRotu There already isn't any methanol so yeah, it isn't going to create more

[@MortRotu]

@@infernaldaedra thank you

[@TheNumbers400]

Still Spirits should be paying you a LOT for your videos using their still.

[@flyndutchmn]

How does it compare to aquavit?

[@crp110]

Gday probably a stupid question but can this be done in a t500?

[@jakesimpson64]

Yes, I regularly distill ouzo in my t500. Check out Jesse's video on how to run the t500 as a reflux still, that's the process I followed

[@victororta2235]

This is wicked alchemy.

[@ARCSTREAMS]

got the same glass jar but the rubber seal deteriorated over time with stored alcohol in it

[@ARCSTREAMS]

im confused, you said it was sitting at 50% abv and that is where it should be so why did you cut it with water? also when cutting it was turning cloudy but then it was clear huh? and if done correctly it would already be sweet with anise bringing out more of the sweet flavor but you used vidka not grape distillate

[@manatoa1]

Are you working your way up to absinthe?

[@crabmansteve6844]

Use a *lot* more aniseed, 2-3x more than your star anise, and some fennel seed.

[@kevinauld4367]

I've always wanted to know how this is made.

[@mikemitchell9157]

One time for my 21st and never again will I touch it

[@RiggerBrew]

Star Anis and Elderberry is good

[@kevin_ninja_jones2363]

Jesse try making absinthe that's what that reminds me of when you put the ice water into it

[@smntsn]

YES :) We are coming to Turkish Raki and kebab area :) good :)

[@brennos99]

I. LOVE. OUZO!

[@tianyi05]

Ouzo 12 is ok, but if you want to try a really nice ouzo try some Barbayanni or Plomari. Also watch the ABV there are usually two versions, at least in the United States. They lower the ABV to get a lower import duty, but if you go to true Greek restaurant you should get the real stuff.

[@miroslavisikiyski4876]

don't put it in a freezer. You must use a lot of ice and when it melts it will make it cloudy. Or you can add ice and a little water - as a side dish it's best to have sea food or/and salads - anything salty and/or acidic will be best

[@the_whiskeyshaman]

So what do you call red licorice. Glad to hear of the noom. It’s all about taking control

[@roytelling6540]

salty liquorish you have t try "salmiakki" if I managed to find a postal address for you will try and send you some...... salmiakki is Finnish salt liquorish really good

[@Hawesome5]

Alright, got NOOM. Ready to be an accountabilibuddy. 6:34

[@mistertea4487]

Had it in Greece few month ago, the hotel all inclusive had infinite supply of it. Powerful stuff 👍

[@yiohanessbach2407]

Tip: You MUST take a chance on a much much better sample of our product (meaning,"12" is one of the worst ouzo made in Greece)..that been mentioned, thanks for your video,I'm always courious (and of course much obliged) for many many of your helpful guides to this majestic world of distilling and brewing.. P.S. I can suggest some labels,if imported in NZ or elsewhere near you..let me know (and please dont get me wrong,being from Hellas , makes me want people to taste the best product ever possible) 😇😇

[@hughgrection7246]

Please recommend something I might find in Canada ! I really enjoy "12" , so I'd like to try something "better" :D

[@Mustafa-dz7yb]

Ouzo or raki? Biggest question of the eastern mediterranean

[@mikesonthemove]

Nothing beats NO12 It's my favourite, thanks for making it 💪 , but you might have put in too much sugar.

[@neileyre6019]

Try plomari or ouzo 7 both great ouzos and not as sweet I think as 12. Cheaper too.

[@George77444]

greetings from Greece! gia mas ! (cheers )

[@colinmacvicar2507]

Can someone tell me the difference between Ouzo and Sambuca?

[@scottclay4253]

Sambuca is crazy syrupy sweet, at least the only one I own is like licorice flavored simple syrup.

[@richardamiro8266]

New game: Jesse says Refractometer…take a drink. Hydrometer take 2. Alchemeter take 3. Lol

[@105.1-THE-RAZORS-EDGE-RADIO]

So I made Oozo smells taste great but doesnt go cloudy when you ad water. Weird...Love your show.

[@bryanjohnston6676]

I’ve recently bought an air still and my product is coming out hot….. is that normal?

[@DrAppalling]

No it should come out at close to air temperature in your room.

[@bryanjohnston6676]

@@DrAppalling thought that. Something must be wrong with it, will look into sending it back Cheers

[@DrAppalling]

Check that the fan is running. The plug for the still top must be pushed all the way into the jack on the still bottom or the fan will not run.

[@thebeaglebeat3615]

Yum