Since ancient Greece and Rome, Greek Mastiha, a treasured ingredient, has long been enjoyed as a gum. Effie Panagopoulos has reimagined this historic resin, transforming it into a contemporary drink, KLEOS Mastiha Spirit. Greece’s superfood, Mastiha, originally from Chios Island, is now reaching global markets in liquor form, driven by the first Greek woman liquor brand owner.
Panagopoulos, a Greek-American from the East Coast and currently based in Los Angeles, has been in the liquor business for over 20 years. She saw potential in Mastiha when she first savored it during her time on Mykonos Island in the summer of 2008. “Greece has fallen off the map when it comes to cocktails. I saw KLEOS Mastiha Spirit as an opportunity to make Greece relevant in bars again. It’s a universally loved flavor,” Panagopoulos said.
KLEOS Mastiha Spirit comprises five ingredients: neutral grain spirit, Mastiha resin, Mastiha essential oil, sugar, and water. “Kleos Mastiha Spirit is the only double-distilled, small-batch, low-sugar Mastiha drink on the market. Most brands are cloyingly sweet but KLEOS is balanced,” Panagopoulos said. Mastiha is usually consumed as a shot in Greece, but Panagopoulos wanted to create a product served on the rocks, as a base, or simply as a cocktail ingredient.
“We’re the sole Greek brand on the Royal Caribbean cruise line,” she notes. “Achieving these milestones is thrilling. I aim for KLEOS Mastiha Spirit to dominate sales in the US and worldwide,” Panagopoulos added.
The raising of capital is a well-known challenge for women-owned start-up businesses. “Only 2% of VC funding goes to female-owned brands, the biggest hurdle for all female start-ups,” says Panagopoulos. “I’m still in start-up mode and have had to raise funds from 60 different investors throughout the existence of KLEOS Mastiha Spirit. I kept pitching to raise the capital needed.” Panagopoulos said.
The production of KLEOS Mastiha Spirit is similar to gin making. “We start with a neutral grain spirit base from Europe, made from barley, wheat and rye. We macerate it with Mastiha tears and then do a double distillation with two forms of Mastiha. No one else is doing this right now,” Panagopoulos explained.
The bottle of KLEOS Mastiha Spirit is inspired by the architecture of a Doric Greek column, which is the simplest and most harmonious of the three classical orders. The bottle’s design alone took four years to perfect. “I wanted to create a product that’s modern, chic, and relevant for a global consumer while having packaging that’s undeniably Greek, but not too cliché,” Panagopoulos said.
Photo: Guillaume Jubien
Behind KLEOS Mastiha Spirit is the rich history of Mastiha, celebrated for its medicinal and culinary uses for over 3,000 years. “Mastiha is Greece’s best-kept secret,” Panagopoulos said. “Mastiha trees thrive only in 24 southern Chios villages.”
There is a folklore explanation for mastiha’s healing properties, explains Panagopoulos. The saint of Chios is Aghios Isidoros, a Christian during non-Christian times who converted two working girls to Christianity. As punishment, the local government decided to kill him. They dragged his body around the southern part of the island with a hornstone chariot, leaving him to die in a field of Mastiha trees. The trees wept in sympathy, and the saint said, ‘May your tears become a medicine for the world.’
AUTHOR
I am Theodora Tsevas, a Greek-American writer and photographer with a deep appreciation for Mediterranean culture and more. My work revolves around exploring new destinations, savoring local cuisine, and conveying these experiences through my writing and photography.
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