Most every country has some local brands or styles of alcohol, and in the interest of informing my public, I did some research on Crete. Oh, the sacrifices we make!
As in all countries, there is a brand of beer that is the popular local brew. In Crete, this brand is Mythos, whose name fits with the Greek penchant for mythology. Unfortunately, the beer is not legendary. Like other popular local brands, Mythos is an unremarkable lager. I also tried Finkbrau, which was an unimpressive German import.
More appealing is the local wines. We tried a few bottles from the stores and often had wine with dinner when dining out. Red wines were our preference. Some restaurants had local or even home-made wines, which were all lovely.
The surprise for us was the after dinner wines, known as raki in the local lingo. Raki is distilled from the grape stems and seed husks and is as strong as the producer wants it. Often it's made locally. It can be flavored with herbs or honey. If anise seed is used, the result is called Ouzo, which is potent and palatable.
It's best served chilled, as I discovered at home. The honey version has a good blend of sweetness and punch.
Our next trip will be to Belgium, so the alcohol paradigm will shift and the beers will be good while the wines will be unremarkable. At least, that is my prediction!
As in all countries, there is a brand of beer that is the popular local brew. In Crete, this brand is Mythos, whose name fits with the Greek penchant for mythology. Unfortunately, the beer is not legendary. Like other popular local brands, Mythos is an unremarkable lager. I also tried Finkbrau, which was an unimpressive German import.
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| Finkbrau and Mythos, take a pass if you can! |
More appealing is the local wines. We tried a few bottles from the stores and often had wine with dinner when dining out. Red wines were our preference. Some restaurants had local or even home-made wines, which were all lovely.
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| Local yumminess |
The surprise for us was the after dinner wines, known as raki in the local lingo. Raki is distilled from the grape stems and seed husks and is as strong as the producer wants it. Often it's made locally. It can be flavored with herbs or honey. If anise seed is used, the result is called Ouzo, which is potent and palatable.
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| Our airport acquisitions |
It's best served chilled, as I discovered at home. The honey version has a good blend of sweetness and punch.
Our next trip will be to Belgium, so the alcohol paradigm will shift and the beers will be good while the wines will be unremarkable. At least, that is my prediction!
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