# Drinking ouzo and similar spirits **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020 "2018-01-07T02:20:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020/1 "2018-01-07T02:20:05Z")
Every time I was offered ouzo in a Greek restaurant (Germany or UK, mostly), I hated it. Now a friend told me to drink it like pastis, with ice cubes and diluted with water. Magnificient! Are there any other drinks that really benefit from being mixed with lots of water? Also, which drinks change colour when diluted with water? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020/2 "2018-01-07T02:23:42Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Now a friend told me to drink it like pastis, with ice cubes and diluted with water. Magnificient! Huh. I drink it neat. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020/3 "2018-01-07T02:50:34Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Every time I was offered ouzo in a Greek restaurant (Germany or UK, mostly), I hated it. Now a friend told me to drink it like pastis, with ice cubes and diluted with water. Magnificient! > > Are there any other drinks that really benefit from being mixed with lots of water? Also, which drinks change colour when diluted with water? That’s a good question. To my recollection, those pastis/anise-flavored types of drinks are the only ones I could think of that are diluted like 4/5-1 with water. That color change is known as “louching.” Absinthe also louches, but it’s essentially the same type of drink as pastis and ouzo, though with other botanicals (wormwood being the major one.) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020/4 "2018-01-07T03:09:14Z")
Yeah, the anise drinks. Ouzo, pastis, Sambuca, raki (with dotless i that I don’t feel like doing on phone), arak, absinthe, etc. Other than that, vodka soda? Old Fashioned (probably not. Though more water than a few drops in Scotch or bourbon.) Insert joke about Bud Light based boilermaker/depth charge. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020/5 "2018-01-07T16:20:43Z")
Mallort? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020/6 "2018-01-07T16:26:06Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Mallort? Never seen it drunk cut with a lot of water, and I’m almost positive it doesn’t louche. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020/7 "2018-01-07T16:56:22Z")
Try an Ouzo Sunrise. AFAIK Mrs. L.A. invented it, though someone or someones in the world must have come up with it too. It’s like a Tequila Sunrise, only with ouzo instead of tequila. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020/8 "2018-01-07T20:16:40Z")
I’ve only had ouzo once, at a Greek festival. it was mixed with a little water, but not much. It tasted like licorice flavored moonshine, and burned all the way down… lovely stuff! ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drinking-ouzo-and-similar-spirits/806020/9 "2018-01-07T20:25:21Z")
Black Sambuca is a nice liqueur.