The

Aguardente (Spanish), or (Portuguese) ( eu, pattar; ca, aiguardent; gl, augardente), is a generic term for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It originates in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and in Ib ...

de Medronhos is a strong spirit, a traditional

fruit brandy In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, obtained from arbutus berries - the fruit of the Medronho tree, ''

Arbutus unedo ''Arbutus unedo'' is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, which bear some resemblance to the strawberry — hence the common name ...

'' - also called strawberry tree. The ''

'' grow wild on the poor soils in rural regions of Portugal such as

Lousã Lousã () is a town and concelho, municipality in the district of Coimbra (district), Coimbra, in the central part of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 17,604, in an area of 138.40 km2. History The oldest evidence provides an indication ...

and the inner

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

(in such places like

Marmelete Marmelete is a villagePortuguese civilian survey: Sheet 49C Albufeira. Publishers: Instituto Geográfico Português (Portugal Civilian Survey). Scale:1:50,000. and a ''freguesia'' (parish) in the ''concelho'' (municipality) of Monchique (Algarve, ...

and

São Marcos da Serra São Marcos da Serra, also known simply as São Marcos, is a village and the seat of the homonymous civil parish in the municipality of Silves, in Algarve region, Portugal. The population of the entire civil parish in 2011 was 1,352, in an area of ...

). There was no large-scale commercial plantation of Arbutus unedo until the 21st century and in the past the arbutus berries were mainly collected by local farmers, by hand and processed privately. Therefore, good Aguardente de Medronhos was not easily found in supermarkets but instead bought mostly directly from these farmers. Very few farmers had a license for distillation, but they were tolerated by the authorities to keep this traditional Portuguese specialty alive. A commercial derivative, sweetened with honey and flavoured with herbs, is sold under the brand names ''Brandymel'' and Dom Cristina.Dom Cristina: O Licor que Perdeu o Nome (PlanetAlgarve) https://planetalgarve.com/2014/10/16/dom-cristina-o-licor-que-perdeu-o-nome/ Aguardente de Medronhos is also known as 'firewater' to non-Portuguese speakers. It is a rough translation from ''água ardente'', which is Portuguese for ''burning water''. The spirit obtains this name from the hot sensation as the consumed beverage travels down the throat and is felt through the sinuses. The alcohol content of the beverage can vary; however, many bottles of Aguardente de Medronhos contain around 48% alcohol by volume. The beverage is consumed in shot-glass sized portions.

External links

A blog about the tree and the liquor (Portuguese)

References

Portuguese distilled drinks Brandies Arbutus {{Distilled-drink-stub