For many years, with the exception of Volos and Ioannina and Crete where the education of young people, especially students, in tsipouro drinking is a timeless tradition, the enjoyment of our national spirits was a habit that young people had mainly associated with family gatherings and sporadic visits to the province. With the standardization of tsipouro starting only in 1988 and the images of plastic bottles with tsipouro from the village in the fridge for Sunday meze, we grew up most young people in urban centers such as Athens and Thessaloniki.Generations and generations of Greeks from 1980 onwards grew up drinking vodka, whiskey and other imported drinks, leaving aside for a long time the Greek spirits and the way of enjoying them. The xenomania of the previous decades played a special role in the marginalization of our national spirits with the parallel storm of advertising and development of large distribution networks of imported products. As early as the early 1980s, per capita whiskey consumption began to be one of the highest in Europe. After all, how much confidence do you have in a distillate that is usually stored in a plastic bottle and the most common consequence of consuming it is at least one lost the next day? Bright breaks the peskesia from the “householder” uncle from the village or the island in a glass bottle with the indication “holy water” or the sporadic visit to hangouts of older people with an uncle who “knows”…
The financial crisis of 2010 played a huge role in the conversion of young people to the tradition and choice of tsipouro drinking as a way of frequent entertainment. The need for sharing, solidarity and love brought the Greek spirit back to the fore. Tsipouro, tsikoudia and ouzo where they leave an indelible mark are in groups. Acidity, saltiness, bitterness, tensions, passion, sharing and love are its characteristics. In the phrase let’s go for one hides the mood to stop the clock, to talk and listen. In Greece we celebrate everything and nothing with a tsipouro. Tsipouro katanyxi is a collective tradition, it is a contact! Volos and Crete, keeping the tradition alive, were the springboard for the awakening of the collective memory and the rebirth of the culture of gathering around a table loosely in a blunt angle with it. To slow down to silence with the objective purpose of solving global problems. Sometimes a deep confession, a love drama, a friendship building. Do not eat to be full, do not want to bloat, do not want to feel drowsy from food, want a sweet dizziness to irritate the brain to take out your souls. To cry out of love for your friend, to be humiliated for your unfortunate love, to leave stumbling, but not standing up. Such a culture could not leave indifferent today’s young people who live most of their lives between the teachings of the tradition of previous generations (we all had a passionate uncle-grandfather-father) and the flood of information about evolution and peculiarities of tsipouro drinking, have begun to become the majority in the hangouts of their fathers with several to create corresponding new spaces. The memory of the taste seems to be reviving throughout the territory. Besides, the characterizations neo-cafe, postmodern tsipouro restaurant, etc. are not accidental, which are sometimes attributed to new projects throughout Greece.
We are at a time when the global trend of food to share, zero food waste and eat like a local provide a unique opportunity to highlight the cuisine of the poor of our country, the cuisine of the cafe, the ouzo, the tsipouro restaurant. This small, usually in terms of space, but at the same time large kitchen. More and more renowned chefs are coming into contact with the meze and more and more young people are watching their projects, trying their creations accompanied by tsipouro and communicating their experience through social media. His inclusion in the majority of the lists of Greek restaurants of high gastronomy testifies to the recognition of his contribution to the formation of Modern Greek cuisine. The culture of tsipouro in this way shows how it came to stay and why not to successfully cross the borders of our country and to be established in the consciousness of its visitors as the ultimate Greek gastronomic experience. The great familiarity of young people with information about the quality characteristics of imported spirits helps them to understand the categorization and quality characteristics of unique Greek spirits faster than previous generations, which makes them the ideal audience for dissemination. of culture. Nowadays in a tsipouro restaurant you will hear the question more and more often. From monovarietal what do you have? All of the above are characteristic of youth and tsipouro can be a drink with a tradition of centuries but it does not cease to be a product that is fresh and full of hope for a better future. The possibility of aging and the inclusion of tsipouro in the lists of emblematic bars of the country for use as a basis for cocktails, long drinks or on the rocks is a first principle for the strengthening of the image of the locality and the character of both the distillate and the same of Greek bars.
For their part, the Greek distillers, listening to the demands of the time, proceeded to upgrade their facilities, apply new distillation techniques and create innovative products, with the result that today the complexity and variety of Greek spirits far exceeds the expectations of an ever-increasing audience. Here, too, the new generation of distillers is the one who takes the baton from the old ones and renews the image of tsipouro in the consciousness of consumers. The saying that wine starts from the vine also applies to tsipouro. So agronomists, viticulturists, oenologists, chemists and distillers (often with studies and performances from abroad) work together ideally to shape the final product. The first medals in international competitions slowly began to give prestige to Greek spirits. Of course, we have a long way to go as a success, but the bright example of Greek winemakers with the great work they do in winemaking and penetration in the world market make the lovers of Greek spirits turn a blind eye with optimism.
Until then… Love and tsipouro!
Written by Andreas Diakodimitris