Axia Extra Dry Mastiha 70 cl - Premium, Unsweetened White Spirit, 0.5% Sugar - 30% Less Calories than Vodka - Ideal for Cocktails and Tonic Serves

Product Information

Axia offers a novel experience, anew spirit category and invites bartenders to taste, experiment and explore thisextraordinary liquid.” On the nose, Axia boasts aromas of fresh cut grass, rose water and dried orange peels. On the palate, notes of earth pine and cedar are presented, balanced with bergamot, cypress and citrus flavours. Mastiha is sometimes confused with Ouzo, the classic Greek spirit. While both beverages are quintessentially Greek, they are different.

Axia offers a novel experience, a new spirit category and invites bartenders to taste, experiment and explore this extraordinary liquid.” Axia can be served simply – tall over ice with Mediterranean tonic water and garnished with rosemary leaf, star anise and peppercorns.On the nose, Axia brings an abundance of aromas, brightened by more delicate scents of fresh cut grass, rose water and dried orange peel. On the palate, earth pine and cedar are balanced with velvety bergamot, cypress and citrus notes. Axia’ comes from the word ‘value’ in Greek and represents the importance of the mastiha tree. For centuries, mastic resin – known locally as the tears of Chios – has been extracted from the mastiha tree and traded for its sweet floral scent and antioxidant healing qualities. It has also been used in traditional Greek cuisine and contemporary culinary culture – from bread baking and patisserie to meat and fish marinades. Axia is twice distilled in hand-crafted copper stills on the island of Lesvos, bottles at 40% ABV with 0.5% sugar and no additives or sweeteners. Mastiha is a spirit distilled from the resin of the mastiha trees of the Greek island of Chios. As each tree can produce resin for over 70 years and is harvested by hand, mastiha is one of the world’s most sustainable botanicals.

Mastiha crystals are carefully macerated and then redistilled at 80C in our alembic stills. Maceration does take a while, but it allows us to work gently with the crystals and draw out a range of flavor components, lifting and refining different characteristics from the resin. From sultry rose to bright cypress and bold anise, we’re thrilled with the broad spectrum we were able to elicit from the crystals. Axia Spirit Founders Adrian Clarke and Nikos Kalogiannis travelled the world seeking the flavour experience that would launch an entirely new spirit category. Clarke, 7th generation member of the Bacardi family (although Axia has no connection with Bacardi Limited) has extensive experience in distilling and Kalogiannis is a fifth-generation distiller of Greek Ouzo. They both wanted to create the highest quality liquid for modern consumption patterns. They spent three years experimenting and drawing out the flavour of the rare mastiha tree, found in the southern coastland of Chios in Greece, the UNESCO-protected ‘snake island’ in the Aegean Sea. At the Athens Bar Show, which took place 9-11 November in Greece, The Spirits Businesssat down with Axia global brand ambassador Giannis Miliotis to discuss the new product. Axia is being launched as a completely new spirit category – what has been the general response? Axia produces its Mastiha spirit at Kalogiannis’ Plomari Distillery on the island of Mytilene. Unlike traditional Mastiha liqueurs, however, Axia Mastiha only has about .5% sugar by weight. Traditional Mastiha can be as much as 7% sugar. The brand has been created by Adrian Clarke, a seventh-generation member of the Bacardi family, and Nikos Kalogiannis, a fifth-generation distiller of ouzo.

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Mastic is widely used as a spice in Greek cooking—from bread to marinades. It is also popular as an antioxidant supplement. Axia' comes from the word 'value' in Greek and represents the importance of the Mastiha tree. For centuries, mastic resin - known locally as the tears of Chios - has been extracted from the Mastiha tree and traded for its sweet floral scent and antioxidant healing qualities. It has also been used in traditional Greek cuisine and contemporary culinary culture – from bread baking and patisserie to meat and fish marinades. Axia can be served simply - tall over ice with Mediterranean tonic water and garnished with rosemary leaf, star anise and peppercorns.

A handheld, rake-like instrument is used to score the bark. The resin flows from the cuts and hardens into small crystal-like “mastiha tears.” The tears eventually fall to the ground where they are collected. The area beneath the trees is covered with a thin layer of white limestone powder to help keep the crystals clean. Axia is the world's first extra dry spirit strength mastiha (pronounced MasTikaa). Produced from mastic trees that originate and grow in the southern part of the Greek Island of Chios. Cultivating mastic is an age old and sustainable practice that is both time and labor intensive. The treeis"milked" and left to dry in the wind, which forms mastic crystals that are collected, cleaned and graded by hand. Axiaproduction includes maceration, distillationand "ageing" as parts of the unique recipe, with the total processlastingover a month.The end result is a premium, unsweetened 40% ABV spirit with velvety flavour notes of bergamot, cedar, cypress, mint, grass and pepper and a fragrant, rose aroma. Mastic liqueurs are produced by dissolving mastic crystals, powder or oil with alcohol and then distilling the mixture, typically twice. Water and sugar are added to reduce the alcoholic strength and sweeten the spirit.

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Greek brand Axia is rolling out its extra dry mastic spirit to the UK market, a liquid made from the aromatic resin of the mastiha tree.

Pour the Axia into a highball. Add ice cubes and a spicy Bloody Mary mix. Garnish with celery, olives and a lemon wedge – even a shrimp if you're feeling Mediterranean Axia is making its debut in the US, UK and Greece markets as the world’s first extra-dry mastiha spirit, distilled from the natural resin of the mastiha tree that can only be harvested on the island of Chios, Greece. The resin is used in the spirit for its sweet floral scent, as well as its antioxidant healing qualities.We have a programme. We launched in the UK and the US. Now, in Greece. These are the first three targets. We have to establish the brand in these markets to let the people know our product. It’s a product of innovation. We are using raw material that was used 2,500 years ago. The plan is to establish it all over Greece, then go outside and expand – make it bigger. Giannis Miliotis, global brand ambassador for Axia What’s your favourite thing about the spirit? I cannot describe this to you, because it’s feeling that is really… the science of tasting is connected to our memories that we had years ago.