While sitting outside at a café in Plaka, the historical neighborhood in Athens, it was a brief glimpse across the way that a brightly-colored wall filled with bottles caught my eye and led to discovering Brettos.

Ouzo was something I wanted to try, as it is for many first-time visitors to Greece. But stumbling upon Brettos and learning that it is the oldest distillery in Athens where both locals and travelers stop in to drink homemade ouzo, brandy, and liqueurs, was definitely a surprise treat.

It was at Brettos that we sat at the bar and drank ouzo for the first time, then moved on to sampling liqueurs in a variety of flavors. I will always remember the banana liqueur as being my favorite that day. There were so many colorful liqueurs, more than 36 flavors waiting to come down off the wall and each poured in a glass to try. It was hard to stop at only a few to leave and continue on our way to the Acropolis.

Enjoying some drinks at the Brettos distillery and bar was not a planned stop on our trip. But should I ever return to Athens a second time, it definitely will be, and is a memorable spot to have your own first glass of ouzo.