Pilavas Mastiha

Clear like water. Smells fresh, like mastic resin, with faint pine, clay, and the scent of earth after rain. Delightful. The taste is very sweet initially, wonderfully creamy and syrupy, especially when chilled, with just the right amount of resin. The sugar taste is mild in comparison. This is a fine mastiha. A friend and I adored this unique liqueur during a past visit to Greece and have been looking for a good brand here. The exceptional Mastic Tears from Athens isn't available in Australia, and we were let down by what we found in Sydney until we stumbled upon this at a local Greek shop (which also sells amazing custard slices and homemade feta pies). Our issue with other brands imported to Australia is their excessive sweetness. While this is naturally a very sweet liqueur, made from mastic resin, alcohol, and sugar syrup, other brands have an overpowering icing sugar flavor. Some were so intensely sweet they made my teeth clench. This is the first brand we've found locally that emphasizes the resin over the sugar. It's still quite sweet, but it has balance and character – you can properly taste the delicious resin. It doesn't quite match Mastic Tears, but it's the next best thing. When it's just right, mastiha has an otherworldly ability to transport you to another time and place, and this one takes me back to after-dinner drinks by the harbor in Hydra every time (I'm seriously considering moving there). If you're in Australia and interested in mastiha, get this brand. You won't regret it. "Good": 84/100 (3.75 stars)