Handmade ceramic bottle for Mataxa grape brandy. The bottle has a long neck and jug shaped body. It is white with various blue, red, green, and black floral designs hand-painted on the body. The paper label on the front reads "Metaxa" "Product of Greece Grande Fine" "The Distilled Spirits in this Product are Grape Brandy" "S. & E. & A. Metaxa S. A. Piraeus-Greece". There is also a stamp on the front with product number 54235. The top of the label also shows a logo of a Greek soldier carrying a bow and an owl while standing on a boat. The back label reads "Metaxa Export Its Use in Greece is Forbidden" in Greek, English, and another romance language.

Metaxa is a Greek Brown spirit created by Spyros Metaxas in 1888. It is a blend of wine distillates, Muscat wines and a secret bouquet of rose petals and Mediterranean herbs. It is exported to over 65 countries and was the first liquor consumed in space. Metaxi literally means "silk", but Metaxas is a common Greek family name. “In the 19th century most spirits were harsh and burned the palate… Spyros Metaxas had a vision of creating a spirit that would be generous on the senses, intensely aromatic and, above all, smooth on the palate…”

The House of Metaxa was founded by a Greek merchant and entrepreneur: Spyros Metaxas, born in the island of Euboea. He created the first Greek brandy and was involved in the foundation of the first distillation facility in 1888, a little over 50 years after the Greek War of Independence. The business was soon expanded with new factories in Istanbul and Odessa. In 1900 the first exports to the United States took place and the drink became known as "the flying brandy".

Following Spyros Metaxas's death, his sons carried on his work. METAXA is the only Greek industry that survived both World Wars. In 1968 a new factory was built in Kifissia, Athens.

The label shows a Salamina Warrior (Salamina fighter), a figure on an Ancient Greek trireme that was carved on a coin of that period, found during the excavation of the first factory in Piraeus in 1888.

The House of Metaxa has won several gold medals in international spirit competitions, showcased in many of its bottles. In 1989 the company was bought by the British drinks group Grand Metropolitan (now called Diageo) and was later sold to the Rémy Cointreau group.

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