Greek Drinks Guide: Ouzo vs Tsipouro vs Raki, the Shot After Dinner and What to Order

Order ouzo in a Greek taverna and you get a small glass, a jug of cold water and a plate of something salty, because in Greece a drink without food is barely a drink. The clear spirit in that glass is one of three that confuse almost every visitor: ouzo, tsipouro and raki look identical, taste different and come from different parts of the country.

That plate of something salty is the whole point, and our guide to Greek meze culture explains how the drink-first, food-second table actually works.

The short version: ouzo is flavoured with anise and turns milky with water; tsipouro is distilled from grape pomace on the mainland, with or without anise; and raki, or tsikoudia, is Crete's anise-free version, the one that arrives unasked at the end of dinner. Around them sit mastiha from Chios, souma from Chios and Rhodes, kitron from Naxos, Greek beers like Fix and Mythos, and a coffee culture that runs from boiled ellinikos to the iced freddo espresso.

This guide is written the way Greeks drink: what's in the glass, how it's made, and when and where you'd actually order it. For the food that goes alongside, see the Greek food guide; for regional drinking, the Athens travel guide and Crete travel guide.

The Greek Drinking Principle

Before the individual drinks: the most important single fact about Greek alcohol is that it is never consumed in isolation. Greek drinks are social objects, and the culture built around them is specific.

And every one of them starts the same way: glasses up, eyes around the table, one word. The word, the eye-contact rule and why you never clink an empty glass are in our guide to cheers in Greek.

For ordering the next round, and the difference between yamas and opa, our Greek phrases for travel guide has the words with pronunciation.

Always with food. Ouzo, tsipouro, and raki are not drunk before dinner or after dinner — they are drunk during a meal, with meze arriving continuously. The food serves a practical purpose (slowing absorption of alcohol) and a cultural one (keeping people at the table together longer).

Always slowly. Glasses are small and rarely filled more than halfway. The pace is conversational rather than competitive. Greeks do not do shots of ouzo in the way visitors sometimes attempt. A bottle of tsipouro in Volos might last two hours across four people.

Always with water. Greek spirits are typically diluted with cold water or served over ice. Drinking them neat at full strength is possible but not the traditional approach.

Always with company. Drinking alone in Greece is unusual. Greek alcoholic drinks are social instruments — occasions for long conversations, arguments, stories, and the particular unhurried company that defines Greek cafe and taverna culture.

Ouzo vs. Tsipouro vs. Raki: The Quick Comparison

If you just want the short answer before the deep dive below:

Homemade versions of all three, the kind poured from an unlabelled bottle in a village kafeneio, routinely run stronger than the commercial ranges above.

Ouzo, Tsipouro and Raki's Relatives Abroad

If you know these drinks under other names: ouzo belongs to the same anise family as French pastis, Italian sambuca, Turkish rakı and Lebanese arak, all of which turn cloudy with water. Tsipouro without anise and Cretan tsikoudia are Greece's answer to Italian grappa. Balkan rakija is something else again, usually a fruit brandy made from plums, apricots or grapes. The names genuinely mislead: Turkish rakı tastes like ouzo, while Cretan raki tastes like grappa.

Ouzo in Brief: Greece's Anise Spirit

Ouzo is the most recognisable Greek drink internationally and, within Greece, the most associated with summer, the sea and fish tavernas. It is made by distilling alcohol with anise and other botanicals, such as fennel, mastic, cardamom and coriander, in traditional copper stills. By EU rules at least a fifth of the alcohol in a bottle of ouzo has to come from that copper-still distillate; the rest is usually neutral alcohol of agricultural origin, which is why a cheap ouzo and a carefully made one taste so different.

By law it must be at least 37.5% ABV, though most commercial bottles run higher, up to around 47%.

What makes ouzo Greek liquor specifically: Ouzo has EU Protected Geographical Indication status. Only spirit produced in Greece using specific production methods can legally be called ouzo. The main production centres are the island of Lesvos (which produces the most respected ouzo), Macedonia, and Thrace.

The louche effect: Add water or ice and ouzo turns from clear to milky white, because the anise oil dissolves in alcohol but not in water. It is also the quickest way to tell ouzo apart from tsipouro without anise or Cretan raki, which both stay clear.

How ouzo is served: Small, slim glasses, filled one-third full. Water or ice added to taste — many Greeks add a small amount of cold water rather than ice. Always accompanied by meze: olives, a slice of feta, cucumber, tomato, and at the coast, grilled octopus, fried calamari, or small fried fish.

That is the short version. The brands worth knowing, the Lesvos distilleries, ABV by style and the full serving ritual are in our ouzo guide, which goes much deeper than this overview.

What Is Tsipouro? The Mainland Greek Spirit

Tsipouro (τσίπουρο) is a grape pomace distillate produced primarily in mainland Greece: Thessaly, Macedonia, Epirus and central Greece. Like Italian grappa and French marc, it is made from the solid remains of wine pressing. Unlike ouzo, it is not flavoured with anise unless the producer specifically adds it.

Most bottled tsipouro sits in the 40–45% ABV range — noticeably stronger than ouzo, and homemade versions can run higher still.

Two versions:

Tsipouro me anise (with anise) — flavoured with anise, turns cloudy like ouzo when diluted, sweeter and more aromatic. Common in northern Greece, particularly Volos and Larissa.

Tsipouro horis anise (without anise) — clear, dry, with the pure taste of the grape coming through. More like grappa. Drunk neat, slightly chilled, in small glasses. If you like grappa, this is the version for you.

Tsipouro vs ouzo: The key difference is the base. Most commercial ouzo uses neutral grain alcohol as the base, with anise added as flavouring. Tsipouro is always distilled from grapes — their character comes through in the spirit. Tsipouro with anise is more complex and intense than ouzo because the grape interplays with the anise rather than just flavouring a neutral spirit.

How to drink tsipouro: The anise version is drunk like ouzo, with cold water or an ice cube. The version without anise is served cold, often straight from the freezer, neat and in small glasses, and it is sipped rather than knocked back. Order it by the small bottle, one between two, and let the meze keep coming.

The tsipouradiko in Volos: The city of Volos on the Thessaly coast has elevated tsipouro drinking to a cultural institution. Tsipouradika (specialist tsipouro restaurants) serve small bottles of tsipouro with complimentary, constantly replenished meze plates. You pay only for the tsipouro; the food keeps arriving. This is one of the most specific and enjoyable food-and-drink experiences in Greece, and worth a trip to Volos specifically to experience it.

Tsipouro's origins are commonly traced to the monasteries of Mount Athos in the 14th century, from where distilling spread gradually across the mainland — to Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, and eventually Crete, where it became tsikoudia.

Production peak: Traditional tsipouro is distilled in autumn after the grape harvest, in communal distilling events called kazani. In villages, the distilling is a social occasion with food, music, and the first tasting of the season.

Tsipouro names to know: Tyrnavos in Thessaly is the tsipouro capital, and the only town whose tsipouro is registered as a protected geographical indication, since 1989. Its family distilleries include Katsaros and Tsililis. Idoniko, from Drama in Macedonia, is one of the bottles you will see most often in Greek supermarkets, in both anise and anise-free versions. Barrel-aged tsipouro, golden and softer, is a newer style worth ordering if a bar has it.

Greek Raki (Tsikoudia): The Cretan Spirit

In Crete, the same grape pomace distillate goes by different names: raki, tsikoudia, or simply "Cretan spirit." It is closely related to tsipouro but produced in Crete using local grape varieties, never flavoured with anise, and deeply embedded in Cretan hospitality culture.

Is raki Greek or Turkish? Both, because they are two different drinks that share a name. The word comes from the Arabic araq, used around the eastern Mediterranean for distilled spirits. Turkish rakı is an anise spirit, drunk with water and turning milky just like ouzo. Greek raki, called tsikoudia in Crete, is a grape-pomace spirit with no anise at all, and some mainland Greeks use the word raki loosely for tsipouro too. If a Cretan pours you raki, expect something closer to grappa; if a Turkish friend does, expect something close to ouzo.

Raki as welcome: In Crete, raki is offered freely. If you sit down at a traditional Cretan restaurant, you will likely receive a small carafe of tsikoudia at the end of the meal — complimentary, unrequested, a statement of hospitality. It is offered to guests arriving at homes. It is poured for strangers who look like they might enjoy it. Refusing raki in Crete is possible but slightly peculiar.

The free raki is filoxenia in a glass; our guide to Greek customs and traditions explains the hospitality behind it and the other habits visitors notice first.

How it differs from tsipouro: Cretan tsikoudia tends to be lighter and more delicate than mainland tsipouro, partly because of the grape varieties used, partly because Cretan distillers traditionally aim for a cleaner, less aggressive spirit. The absence of anise means the pure grape character comes through completely.

How to drink tsikoudia: Ice-cold and neat, in thimble-sized glasses, two or three sips to a glass. It comes with fruit or something sweet, and if the carafe is refilled without you asking, that is your hosts telling you to stay a little longer.

Tsikoudia typically comes in a little lighter than mainland tsipouro, often around 37–40% ABV, partly because Cretan producers traditionally distil it only once rather than twice.

Rakomelo: A Cretan winter drink made from tsikoudia warmed with honey and spices — typically cinnamon, cloves, and sometimes cardamom. Served warm in winter as both a social drink and a traditional remedy. One of the most pleasant Greek alcoholic drinks you will not find on any international menu.

The kazanemata: Like tsipouro on the mainland, Cretan tsikoudia is traditionally distilled in autumn in communal distilling events called kazanemata — village parties built around the distilling cauldron, with food, music, and the first tasting of the new season's spirit.

Outside kazani season you can still see a still at work: the full-day Cretan wine, olive oil and raki tour from Heraklion includes a raki tasting at a village distillery.

The Greek Shot After Dinner (and Why It's Free)

At the end of a meal in most Greek tavernas, something arrives that you didn't order: a small carafe of clear spirit, often with a plate of fruit, halva or a spoon sweet. It is a kerasma, a treat from the house, and it is free. In Crete it is almost always tsikoudia; on the mainland it is usually tsipouro; on other islands it may be a local liqueur such as mastiha or kumquat, or something the owner's family made.

You don't have to finish it, but don't try to pay for it. The polite move is to drink a glass, say thank you, and leave the same round-up tip you would have left anyway; our guide to tipping in Greece explains what that means in practice. In winter in Crete the kerasma is often rakomelo, warmed with honey and spices.

Mastiha: The Unusual Greek Liqueur

Mastiha (μαστίχα) is a liqueur made from the resin of the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus), which grows exclusively in the southern villages of Chios island — the only place in the world where the tree produces significant quantities of resin. The liqueur has a piney, slightly resinous flavour with sweetness underneath, completely unlike any other spirit.

What mastic resin is: Mastic is the dried sap of the mastic tree, which "weeps" resin crystals from cuts in the bark. These crystals have been harvested in Chios for at least 2,500 years — they were traded across the ancient Mediterranean as a chewing gum, medicine, and flavouring. The term "mastigate" (to chew) comes from the Greek word for mastic.

Mastiha liqueur: The commercial product is made by infusing mastic crystals in spirit to produce a clear, slightly sweet liqueur at around 30% ABV. The taste is described variously as piney, cedar-like, anise-adjacent, and uniquely aromatic — nothing else tastes quite like it.

How to drink it: Served chilled as a digestif, sometimes over ice. Increasingly used in cocktails in Athens bars. Can also be drunk straight as a palate cleanser between dishes. It is a genuinely distinctive Greek alcoholic drink worth trying if you encounter it.

Other Greek Alcoholic Drinks Worth Knowing

Metaxa — A Greek brandy blended with wine and botanicals, produced since 1888. Available in 3-star, 5-star, and 7-star grades depending on ageing time. Not a traditional spirit in the ouzo/tsipouro sense but widely drunk internationally.

Retsina — A white or rosé wine flavoured with pine resin, a tradition dating to ancient Greece when resin was used to seal wine vessels. The resin flavour is polarising — some love it, many do not. Drink it very cold with fried seafood for the best result.

Rakomelo — The warm Cretan honey-and-raki drink mentioned above. A winter speciality that deserves wider recognition.

Tentura — A cinnamon-heavy liqueur from Patras in the Peloponnese, made with spices and orange peel. Sweet, warm, and very specific to that region.

Kumquat liqueur — Corfu's signature liqueur, made from the small citrus fruit grown in the island's north. Sweet but sharp, and sold in every shop in Corfu Town; our guide to things to do in Corfu covers the drive through the groves.

Souma — The local distillate of two islands: on Chios it is made from dried figs, and on Rhodes, especially in the mountain village of Siana, from grapes. It is unflavoured, strong and mostly sold from the producer's door, so it is something to look for on the island rather than in Athens.

Kitron — A liqueur distilled from the leaves of the citron tree on Naxos, made in three styles (green, yellow and clear) and best tasted at the Vallindras distillery in Halki, which has made it since 1896. Our best restaurants in Naxos guide pairs the distillery with lunch in the village.

Greek Beer: Fix, Mythos, Alfa and the Small Breweries

Greeks drink more beer than visitors expect, especially in summer and with souvlaki or fried fish. Fix is the oldest brand, first brewed in 1864 by the Fix family, Bavarian brewers who came to Greece with King Otto's court. Mythos, a light lager launched in 1997 and now owned by Carlsberg, is the one on every island taverna menu and in supermarkets abroad. Alfa, from the Athenian Brewery, and Vergina, brewed in Komotini in Thrace, complete the brands you'll see everywhere.

The more interesting beer comes from the microbreweries that have opened since the 2000s: Septem on Evia, Nissos on Tinos, Chios Beer on Chios, and the Santorini Brewing Company, whose Yellow Donkey is sold all over the Cyclades. In a taverna, beer usually comes in a 500 ml bottle meant for sharing.

Greek Wine, in Short

Greece has been making wine for around 4,000 years, and its native grapes are the reason to drink it here: assyrtiko from Santorini's volcanic soil, agiorgitiko from Nemea in the Peloponnese, xinomavro from Naoussa in Macedonia and moschofilero from Mantinia. The sweet wines to know are Santorini's vinsanto and mavrodafni from Patras. In an ordinary taverna, though, most people order the house wine, sold by the kilo or half-kilo carafe from the barrel: cheap, honest and occasionally excellent. Our Greek wine guide covers the regions, grapes and best bottles.

To taste assyrtiko and vinsanto where they are made, the small-group sunset wine tour on Santorini visits three wineries and finishes at Santo Wines above the caldera.

How to Toast in Greek

When Greeks drink together, toasting is specific and social:

Stin ygeia mas (στην υγεία μας) — "To our health" — the standard toast, said before drinking.

Yamas (γιά μας) — The shortened version of the same, more casual. This is what you will hear most often at a taverna table.

The ritual: Glasses are tapped gently together — if there are four people at the table, four individual taps, not a collective clink. Eye contact with each person as you tap is important. The glasses are raised, the toast is said, and everyone drinks. Do not tap empty glasses and do not start drinking before the toast.

The toast almost always happens at a taverna table, and it is bound up with kerasma — the carafe or the dessert the owner sends over unasked at the end of the night. For where that fits in the sequence of a Greek meal, see how to eat at a Greek taverna.

What to Order and Where

At a seafront taverna in summer: Ouzo with ice and water, accompanied by grilled octopus or fried anchovies.

For the dishes to order alongside, from taramasalata to kleftiko, see our guide to famous Greek foods.

At a tsipouradiko in Volos: A small bottle of tsipouro horis anise (without anise) and whatever meze arrives.

In Crete at a traditional restaurant: Accept the tsikoudia offered at the end of the meal. If you want rakomelo in winter, ask.

In Athens at a modern bar: Mastiha cocktails or a well-made freddo espresso with a shot of something local.

At a village kafeneion anywhere: Whatever the owner pours. It will be homemade and it will be strong.

Non-Alcoholic Greek Drinks

Most of what Greeks drink in a day has no alcohol in it at all, and coffee comes first. Our Greek coffee guide covers how to order each one; here is the short list.

• Greek coffee (ellinikos): boiled in a small copper briki and served with the grounds, ordered sketos (no sugar), metrios (medium) or glykos (sweet).
• Frappe: instant coffee shaken with water and ice, invented in Thessaloniki in 1957 and the definitive Greek summer coffee for decades.
• Freddo espresso and freddo cappuccino: espresso shaken with ice, the cappuccino version topped with cold milk foam. This is what most Greeks under 40 drink now.
• Mountain tea (tsai tou vounou): dried sideritis, a wild mountain herb, brewed as a caffeine-free tea and drunk with honey, especially in winter.
• Soumada: a sweet almond syrup diluted with cold water, traditional in the Ionian islands and served at weddings.
• Vissinada: sour-cherry syrup topped up with cold water or soda, the cafe drink of Greek grandmothers and children alike.
• Portokalada and lemonada: Greek orange and lemon sodas; Epsa, from Volos, is the brand to ask for.
• Ariani: a thin, lightly salted drinking yogurt, closer to Turkish ayran than to anything sold abroad as a Greek yogurt drink.

And water: in Athens and most mainland cities the tap water is safe, while on some islands it isn't. Our guide to tap water in Greece goes place by place.

What the Ancient Greeks Drank

Mostly wine, and almost always mixed with water. At a symposium the host blended wine and water in a large bowl called a krater, commonly at around one part wine to two or three of water; drinking it neat was considered something barbarians did. The god in charge was Dionysus, one of the twelve Olympian gods.

Two other drinks turn up in the texts. Kykeon was barley and water flavoured with pennyroyal, sometimes with wine and grated cheese, and initiates drank it at the Eleusinian Mysteries. Melikraton was honey mixed with water or milk, drunk and poured as an offering. Retsina's pine-resin flavour is often traced to the ancient habit of sealing amphorae with resin, though the retsina you'll order today is a much later style.

FAQs

What is the most famous Greek drink?

Ouzo is the most internationally recognised Greek alcoholic drink: an anise-flavoured spirit produced only in Greece that turns cloudy white when mixed with water. Within Greece, tsipouro on the mainland and raki or tsikoudia in Crete are just as embedded in local drinking culture.

What is the difference between ouzo and tsipouro?

Ouzo is always flavoured with anise and other botanicals, and only part of its alcohol has to come from the copper-still distillate; the rest is usually neutral alcohol. Tsipouro is always distilled from grape pomace, with or without anise, which gives it more of the grape's character. Tsipouro is also usually a little stronger.

Is raki the same as ouzo?

No. Cretan raki (tsikoudia) is a grape distillate with no anise, closer to tsipouro or grappa than to ouzo. The Turkish drink called rakı is a different product, anise-flavoured and much more like ouzo.

Is raki Greek or Turkish?

Both, as two different drinks. Turkish rakı is an anise spirit similar to ouzo. Greek raki, or tsikoudia in Crete, is a grape-pomace spirit with no anise, closer to grappa.

How strong is Greek raki?

Bottled Cretan tsikoudia is usually around 37 to 40% ABV. The homemade raki poured in village tavernas is often stronger, which is why it comes in thimble-sized glasses.

What is tsipouro?

Tsipouro is a Greek spirit distilled from grape pomace, the skins and seeds left after winemaking, mostly in Thessaly, Macedonia and Epirus. It comes with or without anise, usually at 40 to 45% ABV, and is drunk with meze, most famously in the tsipouradika of Volos.

What is the national drink of Greece?

Ouzo is usually called Greece's national drink: it has EU protected status, can only be made in Greece, and is the drink most visitors associate with the country. Many Greeks would argue for tsipouro on the mainland and raki in Crete, which they drink at least as often.

What is the Greek shot after dinner called?

In Crete it is raki or tsikoudia; on the mainland it is usually tsipouro; elsewhere it may be a liqueur such as mastiha or kumquat. It is a kerasma, a treat from the house, and it is free.

Do Greeks drink ouzo before or after dinner?

During. Ouzo is drunk slowly with meze through the meal, diluted with water, rather than as an aperitif before it or a digestif after it.

How do you drink ouzo properly?

Pour ouzo into a small glass, about one-third full. Add cold water, roughly double or triple the volume of ouzo, and then ice if you want it colder. It will turn cloudy white. Drink it slowly, with meze.

Is there ouzo without anise?

No. Anise is what makes it ouzo. If you want the same kind of clear Greek spirit without anise, order tsipouro without anise (horis glikaniso) or Cretan tsikoudia.

What drinks are similar to ouzo?

French pastis, Italian sambuca, Turkish rakı and Lebanese arak are all anise spirits that turn cloudy with water the same way. Cretan raki and tsipouro without anise are closer to Italian grappa.

What is mastiha liqueur?

A liqueur made from the resin of the mastic tree, which grows in the southern villages of Chios. It has a piney, aromatic flavour unlike any other spirit and is served chilled as a digestif or in cocktails.

What beer do Greeks drink?

Mythos, Fix, Alfa and Vergina are the brands on almost every taverna menu. For something more interesting, look for small Greek breweries such as Septem from Evia or Nissos from Tinos.

What is the legal drinking age in Greece?

18. Greek law forbids selling or serving alcohol to anyone under 18.

Plan Your Greece Trip

• Greek Food Guide — the full picture of Greek cuisine
• Ouzo Guide — deep-dive into Greece's most famous spirit
• Athens Travel Guide — where to drink in Athens
• Crete Travel Guide — raki, rakomelo and Cretan food culture
• Kleftiko Guide — the slow-roasted lamb that goes best with a glass of tsipouro
• Greek Wine Guide — from assyrtiko to xinomavro
• Greek Coffee Guide — frappe, ellinikos and how to order
• Volos Travel Guide — the home of the tsipouradiko
• Chios Travel Guide — the mastic villages and mastiha
• How to Plan a Trip to Greece — the full planning framework

Whenever you decide to go, compare flight deals to Greece across airlines on Kiwi.com for the best available fares.