METAXA

Metaxa is a distilled spirit that was invented by Spyros Metaxa in Pireaus, Greece in 1888.

It is a blend of brandy and wine, which is then mixed with an aged Muscat wine along with a blend of distilled water and various spices, the recipe of which has been a successfully, closely guarded secret.

Metaxa, Greek Brandy comes in 3 star, 5 star, 7 star, 12 star and in 2003 they launched a Grand Reserve.

The stars donate how long they have been left to mature,
3 star - 3 years, with the Grand Reserve left for 30 years.

The Process
A special wine is made from a blend of 3 grapes, most likely the savatiano, sultana and black corinth grapes.
The wine is distilled under traditional wine making methods.
The distillates are then left in new limousine type oak casks for between 3 and 30 years, depending on the type of drink they are being prepared for.
The aged distillates are then mixed with an aged muscat wine, distilled water and a blend of various herbs and spices.
This is then left to age for 6 months.
The metaxa is then chilled at -6 C for 48 hours before being filtered and bottled.

Metaxa has a unique taste, different to French Brandy. It has a delightful fruity flavour and is very versatile, you can have it neat, with ice or with mixers.

There are many cocktail recipes you can make with metaxa. .

There are many Greek food recipes that call for brandy, Metaxa 3 star is ideal to use for this.