( (or , from () + (), meaning "

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

") is a Greek mixed alcoholic drink. It is a digestive spirit, traditionally used by many Greeks as a

home remedy Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

for a sore throat or cough.

Types

is made by combining or - two types of grape pomace brandy - with

and several spices, such as

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

, or other regional herbs. It is produced in

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and other islands of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

and on the Greek mainland, chiefly consumed during the winter as a warm drink. Rakomelo can be found as a bottled mixed drink in liquor stores, ready to be served. A similar drink is baked , which is a regional drink of the island of

Amorgos Amorgos (, ; ) is the easternmost island of the Cyclades island group and the nearest island to the neighboring Dodecanese island group in Greece. Along with 16 neighbouring islets, the largest of which (by land area) is Nikouria Island, it compr ...

, known as , made from , sugar and spices, and served at room temperature. Baked contains more spices than , which usually only contains cinnamon. Baked is also available mixed and bottled, ready for consumption (served at room temperature).

Composition

A general recipe for is 1–2 teaspoons of honey for every 4 shots of , along with one clove and about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, modified to suit different tastes.

Notes

Greek cuisine Mixed drinks Greek distilled drinks Cretan cuisine {{mixed-drink-stub