Cocktails with Mastiha liqueur
Mastiha liqueur is a sweetened liqueur flavored with the aromatic resin of the mastic tree, grown above all on the Greek island of Chios.
ABV30%
How it's used
Drunk chilled, it is a digestif. In cocktails it can be the base or a small accent next to other spirits, and its resin aroma carries further than the measure suggests. Where it is only a trace, it can be left out more easily than replaced.
Substitutes for Mastiha liqueur
Nothing else tastes of mastic resin.
Another mastiha
The only true swap, in the same amount. With a drier brand like Kleos, add about half a barspoon of 2:1 syrup per 30 ml.
Vodka and syrup
For each 30 ml of mastiha, use 20 ml of vodka and a barspoon of 2:1 syrup. This keeps the strength and sweetness, though not the flavor.
Ouzo and other anise spirits
Will not work. They taste of anise, are stronger, and are far less sweet. If you use them, take two-thirds as much and add a barspoon of 2:1 syrup per 30 ml of mastiha.
Myths
"Mastika" in the Balkans
In Bulgaria and North Macedonia "mastika" names an ouzo-style anise spirit, not the Greek resin liqueur. A bottle carrying the word can be something else entirely from what the recipe asks for, so read the ingredients.
