Loukatos Mastic

Savor the sweet flavors of raw gum!!

Today I’m writing about Mastiha (Mastic) a unique liqueur that deserves a place on your liquor shelf. I discovered Mastic several years back when visiting a good college buddy in his Astoria, Queens neighborhood. While many of my discoveries as the Liquid Globalist have been the result of intentional research, sometimes I get lucky - Mastic was one of these cases, it found me!! My friend and I had just finished a nice dinner of lamb chops at a local Greek restaurant. We requested the bill and the waiter brought our bill along with two small glasses of Mastic. I had to have a bottle.

So what is Mastic? Mastic is actually a tree resin that seeps out to form dried “tears”, not unlike frankincense or myrrh resins. It’s a totally natural product with a flavor that I find both strangely familiar, yet also exotic - lingering for perhaps decades in my mind’s unconscious. When I discover flavors like this (which I love doing!!) it almost seems like I’m seeing a brand new color I’d never noticed before. Once you finally grasp such an elusive essence, you can’t help but savor it.

Anyways…. The dried sap has been used since time immemorial for various medicinal purposes, and etymologically this is where the word masticate (to chew) comes from. The Mastic gum prominently comes from the island of Chios and the gum itself is covered by European Union Designation of Origin protections.

Mastiha (or as my bottle simply says in English: “Mastic”) is but one of a number of liquors featuring Mastic gum as an ingredient. Mastic gum is commonly used to flavor much more strongly flavored spirits such as Ouzo. With Ouzo though, I commonly find the Mastic flavor is drowned out by what tend to be much stronger anise flavors. If you really think about the flavor of the Mastic, you can taste it within Ouzo, but why not have a standalone beverage that highlights the delicacy of the Mastic gum? That’s where Mastiha comes in.

At 30% abv, with a simple syrup level of sweetness my bottle of Loukatos Mastic is an easy drinking liqueur that is sure to generate a lot of conversation among your party or dinner guests. What does it taste like exactly? Somewhat self-referentially, it reminds me of these Mastic chewing gum chiclets I’d get with my bills at a local Lebanese restaurant. Perhaps the label itself says it best of all:

Ah yes, the sweet flavors of raw gum!! Surely this is what you were looking for when you picked up the bottle. The flavor does seem naturally sweet. Pine-like might be one way to describe the mellow resin-y-ness of the Mastic liqueur, although the flavor is far different and much milder than what you might think of in other pine flavored beverages such as Lapsang Souchong tea. I find the flavor altogether unique and unlike anything else you’re likely to encounter in the US.

If there are any defects to be found in the drink, it’s that some might find the syrupy sweetness too cloying. Personally, I tend to lap sweet liqueurs and wines up like a hummingbird on a nectar bender. My Loukatos Mastic bottle does not carry any protected designation of origin labels. There may very well be more prominent or higher tier brands of Mastiha that exist, but this is what I was able to find stateside, and it’s delicious. So there you have it, a perfectly mellow liqueur with tons of uniqueness that deserves a spot on your liquor shelf, and on the shelves of your local liquor store. Enjoy!!

Producer and Distributor details:

Produced and Bottled by Loukatos Distilery S.A.

25018 Patras

Greece

Imported by: STELLAR IMPORTING COMPANY LLC

WHITESTONE, NY www.stellarimports.com