47% alc

Tsikoudia is an alcoholic beverage, a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy of Cretan origin that contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume. Tsikoudia is made by distilling of the pieces of grape that were pressed for the winemaking process. The pomace is kept for about six weeks after the grapes have been pressed, in a tightly-sealed barrel, and then the fermented mush is distilled. It is often home-produced by individuals in villages throughout Crete, and so the alcohol content varies by producer. Typically each Cretan village has one or two residents who are licensed to distill, and tsikoudia is produced continuously for two or three weeks in late October and early November. The production of tsikoudia looks like celebration all these days, eating and drinking continuously. This project started in 2005 and repeated every year to the same places and the same people. The images are more an attempt to keep visual notes in a diary of a group of friends, rather than a folklore look.