Mastiha: what is it, how is it produced, and which cocktails should I make with this Greek liqueur?

Masticha, also known as Mastika or Mastiha, is a magnificent Greek liqueur made on the Greek island of Chios from simple alcohol flavored with mastic resin.

As it is easy to guess, the name of these Chios pearls comes from chewing, given that these resin pearls with citrus, mountain pine, and chlorophyll flavors, were the ancestors of balsamic candies and chewing gum.

But today, we will talk about the excellent Greek brandy, not confectionery. This liqueur has balsamic aromas of unprecedented finesse, a sweet and complex flavor, good alcohol content, and deepness.

Few are the liqueurs that manage to express such intense, aromatic, and sumptuous notes simultaneously, without losing momentum and grace.

It is an artisanal product, made with care and great attention, and has unique characteristics that make it perfect as an aperitif liqueur for after dinner, but above all, it is an excellent ingredient for making great cocktails.

Organoleptic characteristics of Mastiha liqueur

The bouquet is entangling, very fresh, and full of scents of pine, cedar, bergamot, and all the citrus fruits of the world.

There is no shortage of very green herbaceous references of lemongrass, chlorophyll, and distinctly vegetable flavors; but after that, we are drinking the blood and soul of the mastic tree, which grows on poor soils and clings to the rocks, digging and resisting the wind.

Salt, with almost an iodized appeal, is the other typical scent of mastika that mixes with the more resinous tones of juniper, bark, and pepper.

The flavor is velvety, sweet but never too mellow. On the contrary, it has rhythm, development, and sapid extension. Among the liqueurs, it has few comparisons. It is a unique product that manages to condense Greece’s flavors, the wind, the sea, and the sun in liquid poetry.

How to drink Mastika

Serve it in well-cooled glasses at 10 degrees. Never drink with ice; otherwise, your palate will not be able to savor its nuances.

What cocktails to make with Masticha

It is a liqueur with a distinct citrusy and aromatic flavor, so pair it with simple or lightly aged fruity spirits. Paired with Cuban white rum, it will give strength and splendor to the classic Daiquiris. If you mix it with lime juice, vodka, and ginger beer, it will enhance your Moscow Mules, but it also finds excellent harmony with good mezcal, orange juice, and pepper. You do not need large doses. With 1 cl of mastika, you will make the drinks explode, so do not use large quantities. It is a triple sec style flavoring (very different in flavor).

History of the Masticha liqueur

Greece has an excellent liqueur, winemaking, and distillation tradition. In some ways, it is very reminiscent of Italy, although obviously, we have to adapt the gustatory register to Greek tradition and taste, made of salt, sun, and rocks. And Masticha is the synthesis of these flavors: the earth full of stones on which these solitary trees grow hides precious nectar, drops of condensed resin, slowly extracted from the plants.

Mastic is used to make chewing gum, sweets, candies, and even the legendary Turkish gluey ice cream, dondurma. It’s no coincidence that the name Chios in Turkish means “isle of rubber,” a nod to a valuable resin known since Hippocrates, who recommended chewing it to cleanse the stomach and fight bad breath.

Many hastened to call it a superfood when, in reality, it is a precious gem with nothing super. On the contrary, it is a tradition. It is a natural blend of tastes and cultures, but trends have to keep up with the market, and mastic is now seen as a strange food for marketing.

And this product is part of the traditional production of anise-flavored ouzo and retsina, flavored wines of ancient origin. Wines that, as you well know, have been produced for millennia have been flavored with resins, honey, and spices. It looks a lot like the ones the Romans made and liked after they conquered Greece with their army. One of the most famous of these seasoned wines was Piperatum, a mulled wine seasoned with mastic, spices, and honey.

Price of Masticha liqueur

It is not cheap—at least 28–30 euros per bottle. And that’s fine. It is not cheap sambuca but a noble and sumptuous liqueur made with resin-flavored wine brandy, even if the more affordable products often include the flavoring of alcohol by infusion of wood.