As well as being a travel writer, I also now write about drinks - spirits, in particular. A few months ago, my first drinks book was published (ideal Christmas present!): Cask Strength: The Story of the Barrel, the Secret Ingredient in Your Drink.
The two interests often overlap, and I’ve been invited on trips to visit and write about distilleries in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mexico, Scotland, Iceland, France… and Greece!
Greek distilleries are now making a range of spirits, especially gin (and even vodka made from olives!), but back in ‘the old days’ when I first started visiting Greece there was only one drink to have after dinner: Metaxa. After finishing a meal you would often move on from the restaurant or taverna to a cafe and have a glass or two of Metaxa with a dessert, like baklava.
Metaxa - like ouzo, retsina, souvlaki and kalamari - has long been part of my Greek food and drink experiences. My first meal when I visit Greece is often kalamari and retsina. That’s when I know I’ve arrived.
So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I got invited on a trip to Athens to go and visit the Metaxa distillery. It was a special thrill as the distillery doesn’t do tours, as many distilleries do, so it was a rare chance to see inside. Our small band of journalists was shown around by Costas Raptis, the Metaxa Master, their equivalent of a Master Distiller. He’s one of only a handful of people to ever know the secret recipe that goes into making Metaxa.
What is Metaxa?
We were then treated to a tasting of several different Metaxas by Costas himself, which was a real education. Our trip also included a visit to the island of Samos, to see the vineyards whose grapes go into making Metaxa, and to tour the Museum of Samos Wine.
By the way, I’ve just posted a page on the website on the Best Time to Visit Samos, in case you’re thinking of going next year. I highly recommend it, it’s a beautiful and interesting island.
While in Athens, we also visited a few cocktail bars where they used Metaxa in their cocktails. This included The Clumsies, which is consistently near the top of the annual list of the World’s 50 Best Bars. You can read all about that here.
And as I sit here in my English office, looking out on the first snowfall of the year, how I wish I was in Athens having a warming Metaxa right now!
Yammas!
Mike