One warm spring evening on a roof-top terrace in Athens, I sipped a pale pink cocktail, as the sun went down. My drink, a Cosmopolis, was made from Skinos, a delicious Mastiha liqueur which has a subtle but distinctive, slightly aniseed flavour and can be served chilled as an apéritif or digestif. It is made from mastic, a resin collected from an evergreen bush found only on the Greek Island of Chios. For thousands of years, this aromatic resin has been harvested by making small cuts in the bark, allowing the sap to form teardrops that harden and fall to the floor.

Thanks to the Grecotel Pallas Athena for introducing me to Mastic. A bottle of Skinos found its way into my luggage for the journey home. I rather wish I’d bought two. Here’s an easy-to-make cocktail made from mastiha liqueur, Skinos, vodka and cranberry juice.

Cosmopolis Cocktail

This light, summer Mastiha cocktail is the perfect complement to smoked salmon hors d’oeuvre.

Servings 1

Author Grecotel Pallas Athena

Ingredients

20 ml Skinos liquer (Mastiha liqueur)
30 ml vodka
20 ml cranberry juice
10 ml fresh lime juice

Instructions

Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled Martini glass.
Garnish with a slice of lime and it is ready to serve.

Notes

Mastika / Mastiha / Masticha is a liqueur made from mastic, the sap of the evergreen bush, Pistacia lentiscus on the Greek island of Chios. It is used to flavour sweets, ice creams and liqueurs and is found in cosmetics, toothpaste and even varnishes. It is believed to be very good for ulcers. The name is derived from the Greek verb ‘to chew’ or masticate as it was once used as a chewing gum, keeping teeth white and breath fresh.

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9 Comments

Agness on August 24, 2014 at 12:34 pm

I’m not a big fan of cocktails, but this one sounds and looks so fancy and delicious! I love drinking smoothies so I can’t wait to see some smoothie recipes here, Kate! 🙂

Kathryn Burrington on August 24, 2014 at 4:31 pm

Must admit I rarely make smoothies but I’ll keep an eye out for anything interesting on my travels for you.
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alison on August 5, 2014 at 10:21 pm

I’d love to have a Cosmopolis right about now! When you mentioned the word resin it brought me back to my first trip to Greece and retsina. That was another specialty of Greece, but unlike your delicious sounding cocktail, this tasted more like varsol and pine pitch, not the most pleasant of experiences!

Kathryn Burrington on August 5, 2014 at 10:30 pm

I know just what you mean! This is quite different and absolutely delicious.
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Suzanne - Travelbunny on August 5, 2014 at 9:02 am

Sound delish! Such a lovely delicate colour – goes so well with the smoked salmon. Seems we were both in a cocktail frame of mind this weekend 🙂

Kathryn Burrington on August 5, 2014 at 10:32 pm

Quite! It did make me small when I saw your post knowing this one was coming up. Will also be writing a top ten Italian drinks soon too which I’m sure will feature Aperol Spritz. We had quite a few last time we were in Italy together if I remember correctly! Happy memories indeed 🙂
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noel on August 4, 2014 at 9:53 pm

That is delicious looking drink yummy, would love to. try it

Lucy on August 4, 2014 at 9:29 pm

Sounds lovely – I love to recreate drinks (or food) from my trips back home, it takes you right back to the destination!

Kathryn Burrington on August 4, 2014 at 9:48 pm

Me too! As I suspect you may have noticed.
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Cosmopolis Cocktail, the tear drops of Chios