A clear liqueur flavoured with the resin of mastic trees grown only in southern Chios. The cultivation of mastic is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list, and the trees will not produce the resin anywhere else on earth.
The base is a distilled spirit, and the flavouring is a protected designation resin harvested by hand from trees that only yield it in one part of one island.
What goes into it
- mastic resin from Chios
- a neutral spirit
- sugar
- water
How it is made
Growers score the bark of the mastic tree so the resin weeps out and hardens into tears, which are collected by hand from cloths laid under the trees, then cleaned and sorted. The tears are macerated in spirit or distilled with it, and the extract is sweetened and diluted to bottling strength.
How long it takes: a summer’s harvest of resin; then maceration and blending
How it is eaten
Ice cold in a small glass after a meal, or over ice with soda.
History
Made from the resin of trees grown only in southern Chios; the cultivation of mastic is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mastiha?
Mastiha is a wine & spirit from Greece: clear liqueur flavoured with the resin of Chios mastic trees. Made from the resin of trees grown only in southern Chios; the cultivation of mastic is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list.
How is Mastiha made?
Growers score the bark of the mastic tree so the resin weeps out and hardens into tears, which are collected by hand from cloths laid under the trees, then cleaned and sorted. The tears are macerated in spirit or distilled with it, and the extract is sweetened and diluted to bottling strength. It takes a summer’s harvest of resin; then maceration and blending.
Can I make Mastiha at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The base is a distilled spirit, and the flavouring is a protected designation resin harvested by hand from trees that only yield it in one part of one island.
What goes into Mastiha?
Mastic resin from Chios, a neutral spirit, sugar, water.
How is Mastiha eaten?
Ice cold in a small glass after a meal, or over ice with soda.
