TIP: Tsipouro was firstly produced by the Mount Athos monks in the 14th century, and then its production and use were spread throughout Greece. Tsipouro is distilled a number of times in order to enrich its flavor. If you do not like the stong smell and flavour of anise seed -that gives tsipouro a unique, rooty flavor- you have the option to find tsipouro without it, which in fact is considered the original tsipouro. Anise is added to the tsipouro only in northern Greece.