Christmas and New Year may be over, but the drinking never stops. While Zivania has been drunk – and been making people drunk – for centuries in Cyprus, it is a relatively new addition to my drinks cabinet. Nevertheless, it is right up there now with other goodtime tipples like vodka, over-proof rum and tequila. But as with all alcoholic drinks, quality between brands can vary significantly. Judgment on the below was made by a small committee of three zivania drinkers and begun with a homemade distillation from the Turkish populated village of Potamos tou Kambou in the north.
Kambos
It was decided Kambos is not the kind of drink you would want to spend the whole night drinking. It is rather heavy, leading us to recommend it only as an after-meal shot. It has a slight taste of sugar cane, or as one of our panel said, “a robust woody taste”. Watch out! Kambos zivania is significantly stronger than the factory-manufactured version sold in the south.
Rating: 12 (out of 30)
Sodap
This one proved popular among our panel. One of us (I can’t remember who) said drinking it was like meeting up with an old friend. Its taste is clean and light (as far as zivania can be light) and it has almost no smell, which will be a boon for drink-drivers and lunchtime swiggers. One of us concluded, “I could drink this all night”.
Rating: 21
Keo
More kick than Sodap. Keo is heavier on the palate and stomach and was described by one of the panel as “young and fiery”. Despite this, it rated highly among our zivania connoisseurs who alternated between favouring the lighter taste of zivanias like Sodap and more flavoursome Keo.
Rating: 16
Hajipavlou
I’m afraid to say, this was not liked by any of the panel members. One of us pompously described it as “a disappointing bouquet” while another, in a more down-to-earth manner said, “It tastes like pure spirit”. Unfortunately, Hajipavlou was deemed to be producing “heartburn in a bottle”.
Rating: 7
Loel
This was universally liked by our panel, gleaning comments such as, “This is a happy drink. I could drink this all night” and “It clears the palate and has almost no after taste”. I must admit here that at least two of the panel members are regular Loel drinkers and may have been rendered biased though familiarity. But I must also add that we clearly recognised it in this blind tasting.
Rating: 21
Petridi
Another one which the panel unanimously rejected as being below par. Receiving only 7 points it was accused of having “no character” and of having “cloying soapy taste”. One of the panel suggested that it could have done with a little more time in the bottle to mature.
Rating: 7
31
This, we decided, was a real man’s zivania with a robust, flavoursome taste. Unlike the lighter versions such as Loel and Sodap, 31 is not for long-distance drinking as it is likely to burn a hole in your stomach. It is, however, ideal as an after dinner shot.
Rating: 17
