Herbero is a
liquor
Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...
made in the
Sierra de Mariola
The Serra Mariola Natural Park (, es, Parque Natural de la Sierra de Mariola) is a mountain range in the Valencian Community, Spain, one of the most peripheral offsprings of the Baetic System. Most of its territory is included in a natural park f ...
region in the northern part of the
Spanish province of Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province. Likewise, the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Community (Alica ...
. This mountain range is famous for its abundance of medicinal and aromatic plants, some of which are used to make the herbero liquor. Herbero is often found in a regional cocktail called mesclaet.
The drink originated during The Moorish Occupation of Spain, when the Moors brought distilling technology to the peninsula.
Herbero is obtained from the
distillation
Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distilla ...
or
maceration of plants collected in the mountain range with a
grain alcohol solution with between 22% and 40% alcoholic content. The color of the resulting liquor may be transparent, or it may vary from yellow to clear green to red.
The plants used in the production of herbero include at least four of the following:
sage
Sage or SAGE may refer to:
Plants
* ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb
** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family
** ''Salvia'', a large ...
,
chamomile,
pennyroyal,
lemon verbena, the root of the
blessed thistle
''Cnicus benedictus'', known by the common names St. Benedict's thistle, blessed thistle, holy thistle and spotted thistle, is a thistle-like plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, from Portugal north to southern F ...
,
peppermint
Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantbas ...
,
cattail
''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in A ...
,
fennel
Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...
,
anise
Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia.
The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...
,
melissa
Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey".
''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...
,
agrimony,
savory
Savory or Savoury may refer to:
Common usage
* Herbs of the genus ''Satureja'', particularly:
** Summer savory (''Satureja hortensis''), an annual herb, used to flavor food
** Winter savory (''Satureja montana''), a perennial herb, also used to ...
,
felty germander,
thyme
Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenou ...
, and
French lavender French lavender may refer to at least two species of plants in the genus ''Lavandula'':
*''Lavandula dentata
''Lavandula dentata'', ''Lavanda de la brecha (Spain)'', fringed lavender or French lavender, is a species of flowering plant in the ...
.
Its production is regulated by the
denominación de origen "Distilled spirits of Alicante" together with
anise paloma,
café licor from
Alcoy, and
cantueso.
References
External links
Home page of the denominación de origen of traditional distilled spirits of Alicante{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207064140/http://www.licoresdealicante.com/ , date=2010-02-07
Spanish liqueurs