Licor Beirão - THE liqueur of Portugal

Posted by Marianne Hoesen on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 Under: food and drink
                       

The most famous liqueur of Portugal is without a doubt Licor Beirão. Its recipe is a trade secret; producer J. Carranca Redondo, Lda. only states it is made from a double distillation of seeds and herbs from all over the world.

The history of the liqueur dates way back. It was already produced as a medicinal product for stomach aches in the 19th century in a pharmacy in Lousã, before being named Beirão.  In the late 19th century alcoholic beverages were no longer qualified as medicinal, but the liqueur was kept in production in a small factory owned by the son-in-law of the original producer. 

In 1929 the liqueur entered a contest on the 2nd Beirão Congress where it earned a gold medal and its name of Beirão. In 1940 the factory was bought by José Carranca Redondo (1921-2005). In the 1960s Redondo drove Beirão to a nationwide success. He understood the importance of advertising - he used to say that after laying an egg, the hen clucks - so he launched the first Portuguese advertising campaign using billboards.

                       

Licor Beirão is currently produced in Quinta do Meiral, in Lousã (district of Coimbra, in Portugal). Here  some of the plants and aromatic seeds used in the secret recipe are produced, allowing greater quality control. The remaining ingredients are brought from distant zones like India, Sri Lanka, Brazil and Turkey.

                        

Licor Beirão can be drunk as an apéritif, but also as a digestiv. It is lovely "on the rocks", but there also exist some great cocktails with this famous drink, one of the best known being Caipirao. Caipirão is one of the favourite drinks of Licor Beirão lovers. It is a very aromatic version of Caipirinha, lighter on alcohol and sugar.

6 cl Licor Beirao
1/2 lime cut into pieces

Cut the lime and mash it merciless. Fill the glass with crushed ice. Pour the Licor Beirao into the glass and stir well. Add two straws - to share, or to double your own enjoyment.  Note that no sugar is added.  


For some surprising recipes and cocktails - http://www.licorbeirao.com/en

In : food and drink 

Next post: Portuguese Olive...
Previous post: Wines Of Portugal

Tags: licor beirão  liqueur beirao  portuguese liqueur 
« Back to posts

 

Translate This Page

Search this site

About Me


Marianne Hoesen Born in the deep south of The Netherlands, I moved to the central Algarve in 2007, together with my partner and 2 dogs. In the meantime we added some goats and chickens and are living a peaceful life in the rolling hills of the rural south of Portugal. I invite you to read a bit in my blog and to leave a comment afterwards. Also check out the holiday accommodations mentioned elsewhere in this website.

 

Algarve Portugal
café Portugal, bica
Esteva, rock rose, Algarve
sun, beach, Algarve
real cork real wine
beach Algarve
folklore dance Algarve
chicken piri piri

São Marcos da Serra, Algarve 8375, PT