Distileria Stoupaki: Ouzo din Chios cu o istorie de 125 de ani  

Parafrazați și traduceți următorul conținut în limba română. Extindeți-l într-un articol complet, adăugând informații reale și relevante. Asigurați-vă că furnizați exclusiv conținutul tradus și parafrazat ca rezultat, fără alte explicații, introduceri sau formatare suplimentară. Întregul text trebuie să fie în română, scris fluent și adaptat pentru o audiență locală. As spring progresses rapidly and temperatures inch closer to the promise of summer, with the first tables being set by the waves on islands and seaside areas, the days of clinking glasses filled with traditional distillates like ouzo, alongside nibbling on appetizers against a backdrop of sunbathing octopuses and sunset views, seem to be just a matter of counting down the days.In these moments, the stars are tsipouro, tsikoudia, and of course, ouzo—the quintessential summer spirit, deeply connected to both the island destinations of our country and to joyful, carefree times spent with friends. While Mytilene is undoubtedly the island most associated with this aromatic drink, there are credible indications that the nearby Chios preceded it in producing ouzo. Regardless, being on the fragrant island of the Eastern Aegean, it’s worth sampling not only the famous mastic liqueur but also the distilled products from historic distilleries such as Tetteris, Kakitsis, Psychis, Apalarina, and Stoupaki.This year, Stoupaki Distillery celebrates 125 years of history, welcoming us to its modern facilities and introducing us to the secrets of distilling ouzo, the pride of the family distillery amidst a carefully expanding range of products that blend tradition with contemporary trends.Stoupaki Ouzo: From Copper Still to GlassThe heritage that the fourth generation of the family passionately upholds is that of their great-grandfather, Giannis Stoupakis, who hailed from Chios and Smyrna. In 1900, next to his home in Dafnona, he established his olive oil press and distillery, for which he obtained a distillation license from the Ottomans.In that first distillery with three stills, the entire family was involved in creating the ouzo, which was transported on donkeys in bakiras—copper vessels that maintained the temperature of the distillate—across all the villages of the island. Year after year, experience grew, tradition continued, and knowledge was passed down as a legacy to the younger generations, especially with the leadership taken over by Alexandros Stoupakis in 1960, one of the seven children of great-grandfather Giannis.Although mastic distillate was later added to the production, the main product of the distillery, the so-called “kazani” ouzo with Chios anise, continued to be produced with 100% distillation, drop by drop, in traditional copper stills, finding its way into the markets of Athens. However, the significant leap came in 2010, with the business now in the hands of the third generation, and the namesake grandson of the founder managing the operation for two decades. The distillery was organized and relocated to new, larger facilities equipped with numerous distillation stills, modern production and bottling lines, and a lab staffed with trained personnel.While wooden stills have now been replaced by steam stills, the two types of special ouzo offered today by Stoupaki Distillery stay true to the original recipe of great-grandfather G