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Aguardiente/Aguardente
Aguardiente (Spanish) or aguardente is the generic name for alcoholic drinks between 29 and 45 percent alcohol, meaning "firewater", or, literally "burning water" (as it "burns" the throat of the drinker).
Central and South America
In Mexico and Colombia, Aguardiente is derived from sugar cane. In Colombia, Aguardiente is an anise-flavoured liqueur derived from sugar cane, popular in the Andean region. Each department of Colombia holds the rights to produce it, but aguardiente produced in one region can be sold in another. By adding different amounts of aniseed, different flavours are obtained, leading to extensive marketing and fierce competition between brands. Aguardiente has a 29% alcohol content. Other anise-flavoured liqueurs similar to aguardiente but with a lower alcohol content are also sold. Aguardiente has become the most popular alcoholic beverage in all of Colombia, each department or region has its own aguardiente. Colombians drink it straight as individual shots and they rarely use it in cocktails.
In Chile, aguardiente is an alcoholic beverage of 45% and higher alcohol content by volume. It is made, like Italian grappa, by distilling the grape residue, primarily the skins and pulp (orujo) plus the stems (escobajos) and seeds, left over from winemaking after pressing the grapes. It is used to make several other flavored liquors like the murtado or enmurtillado , the enguindado (soaking sun dried morello cherries) and licor de oro (flavored with saffron and lemon peel). Dried mint, peeled walnuts, almonds, and other aromatic herbs are also used to flavor the aguardiente. It is mainly consumed by itself, or as a base to make cola de mono ("monkey tail").
Portugal
In Portugal, aguardente is distilled from vinho verde grapes, using a process similar to the French cognac. It is often aged in oak barrels previously used for port wine.
External links
Colombian Antioqueno aguardiente product website
Colombian Aguardiente Nectar product website
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Aguardiente/Aguardente
