While in Crete a while back (quite a while now) we stayed in a little fishing village, and enjoyed the coast. While at dinner one night the waiter offered us an after dinner drink. Not the local Raki (which is pretty hard to digest), and not the customary Greek ouzo. It was called Mastiha and came from a local tree. Very unique tasting and one I really enjoyed (I am not one to drink very often).

Mastiha starts as a semi-transparent sap from lentisk trees (actually evergreen bushes) found only in certain areas of the Greek island of Chios. As resinous granules, it was the original chewing gum, and the name "mastiha" is the root word of "masticate," meaning "to chew."

At the market, look for "mastiha," "mastihi," or "mastic tears" and it might also be available in powdered form.

Mastiha is used as a spice in sweets and cooking, as a flavoring for liqueurs, and in soap-making, cosmetics, and toothpaste, among others. Recent evidence of its positive effect on ulcers has resulted in a boom in purchases by large pharmaceutical companies.

Before we left I stopped at the local liquor store but could not find it. In fact, since then I have been unable to find it despite inquiring at the local speciality spirits shop while in the UK or in Canada, until now. Last week when I happened across it in the LCBO.

A Greek company has revived the mass appeal and is spreading the drink around the world under the brand Skinos, and it is exactly as I remember it. Enjoy.