An authentic Cypriot whiskey whose production process begins and ends in the Mediterranean island has been recently introduced by Aristides Distilling in Tseri.
Malted, distilled, aged and bottled in Cyprus ‘Kythrea’ is the brainchild of Aris and Marianna Aristidou.
“We started our research, about six years ago, to discover and document the characteristics of all the local grains, a necessary process for the development of our recipes,” the couple says.
“It is then that we discovered a barley variety named “Kythrea”. A six-row barley variety stood out since all the other varieties are 2-row barleys. A local variety that is famous for its resilience to drought and its enzymatic power.”
Aris is responsible for the production and Marianna for the logistics and promotion of the authentic Cypriot whiskey.
The establishment of Aristides Distilling in Cyprus is the second part of a journey that began in Missouri, USA, in 2008.
Specifically, in a secluded and quiet place called Walnut Shade located somewhere in the Ozark Mountains.
There, Aris met and began a long and successful collaboration with Jim Blansit that led to the establishment and operation of the first distillery in the Ozarks since the years of Prohibition (1933).
The two became partners and together they won three important distinctions for their drinks in global competitions carried out by the American Distilling Institute.
The team grew in 2013 with the inclusion of Marianna Ktoridou Aristidou and together they managed to develop the sales of their products throughout Missouri.
Aris and Marianna returned to Cyprus in 2016 and embarked on a new endeavor, that of establishing a small distillery in Cyprus.
This endeavor was by no means easy and it took two years of study, planning and overcoming obstacles towards achieving their goal.
The installation of the new distillery began early in 2019 and operation officially began in January 2020.
Years of research to discover and document the characteristics of all the local grains, a necessary process for the development of their recipes, led them to ‘Kythrea’.
This is a local variety that is famous for its resilience to drought and its enzymatic power.
But their emotional connection was two-fold. On the one hand Kythrea is the name of the village of their ancestral home which is in the area under Turkish occupation since 1974.
And on the other Kythrea variety has the characteristics of a resilient barley, adapted to the adversities of the Cypriot nature and with special characteristics for whiskey production.
