Travel Secrets

Drinking “souma” equals to drinking Rhodes’s nectar

Drinking “souma” equals to drinking Rhodes’s nectar

Is there anything better and more authentic than trying and enjoying the local products when visiting a new destination?

There certainly isn’t…! And in the island of Rhodes the visitor will definitely feel ‘inundated’ by the tasty options, as well as, the alcoholic varieties that are all a good reason to fall in love with the island itself and its local delicacies and products.

The alcoholic drink of ‘souma’ constitutes a traditional specialty of the island, although we do find homonymous drinks in other islands of the Aegean Sea, such as for example in Chios island, but with the essential difference that the ‘souma’ of Rhodes is made of grape marc and wine, whereas in Chios they use figs for its preparation. 

There are various distilleries across the island that one can visit and see how “souma” is made, especially in the southern parts of the island and also in the small settlement called Sianna.

To give you a few clues about its preparation, let us just mention that after having collected the grapes, they are mashed into a pulp and are put to boiling -non-stop- for around 20 days. Then, the next phase is fermentation which lasts approximately 2 hours until the alcoholic ethanol has completely evaporated from the grapes. The distilled liquid which is produced equals to the island’s nectar drink.   

Visiting Rhodes island is an authentic holiday experience which can only be complete by staying at the luxury Avalon Boutique Hotel in the heart of the oldest inhabited medieval settlement in Europe…the Old Town of Rhodes.

For reservations, please dial : 0030 210 8981884

Enjoy your drink of ‘souma’! It is good for you!

From: Eva Kanellopoulos

 
 

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