Pacharan (Pacharan in Spanish or Patxaran in Basque) is a liqueur made from wild plum berries (thorns) with a strength of 25-30 degrees. Formally, this is a Spanish alcohol, although in fact it refers to specific territories – Navarre and the Basque Country. “Pacharan” is a name controlled by origin, but thanks to the success of marketing and considerable popularity, now the drink can be found in Aragon, La Rioja, Castile-Leone and other regions of Spain.
Features
The classic pacharan liqueur has a rich red-brown color, but due to various additives it can be blue, yellow, and purple. It is strictly forbidden to add food coloring, the color is due exclusively to natural ingredients.
The younger the drink, the “clearer” and more transparent its structure, a cloudy sediment at the bottom means that the pacharan has not been properly filtered. The finished liquor has an intense fruity aroma without the smell of alcohol. Like 300-500 years ago, today pacharan has healing properties: it has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the stomach and intestines (therefore, it is most often served as a digestif after meals), prevents atherosclerosis, slows down the aging process, and serves as a stroke prevention. Often Navarre “thorn” is taken as a sedative: to calm down and relax.
Technology of preparation
The classic recipe looks like this: 125-250 grams of ripe blackthorn berries per liter of anise tincture (based on pure grain alcohol), along with other additives, infuse for 1-8 months in a cool, dark place in oak barrels or stainless steel tanks. Then it is filtered, diluted with water to a strength of 25-30 degrees (sometimes lower) and bottled. Personal preferences of each manufacturer are superimposed on this base: coffee beans, bay leaves, chamomile or poppy flowers, rose petals, cinnamon and other fragrances are often added to pacharan. Pure alcohol can be replaced with brandy, then tannic notes will appear, sometimes sugar is mixed into the composition.
Over time, the organoleptic properties deteriorate, and already 2 years after the manufacture, pacharan loses its fresh and original taste, so it is not recommended to store it for a long time.
Historical information
“Thorn” liqueurs have been known in Europe since the Middle Ages, but each locality had its own recipe. The name “pacharan” comes from the Basque term “baso aran” – “wild plum” (according to another version – “liquid turn”). There is documentary evidence that the drink was served at the weddings of the kings of Navarre as early as the XNUMXth century, and it is also known that this liquor enjoyed the special favor of Queen Blanca I of Navarre, who considered pacharan a miraculous cure for all diseases.
Until the 1816th century, sloe liqueur was made in a handicraft way for personal use, the industrial production of pacharan was established in 1956 by the winemaker Ambrosio Velasco. Export began in 1988. In XNUMX, a state body was established to regulate the production technology.
By the end of the 2000s, about 7,7 million liters of pacharan were produced in Spain per year. According to one version, the extraordinary popularity of this alcohol is explained by the fact that young Navarrese, going to military service, took a couple of bottles of their favorite drink with them, so residents from other regions of Spain learned about pacharan and began to make it.
The country regularly holds holidays and competitions for home-made or “factory” pacharan, and the regulatory chamber carefully monitors compliance with all production rules.
How to drink pacharan
Pacharan is served in small glass piles and is usually cooled to 6-8 degrees, but ice is not thrown into the glass: more often the bottle is placed in the refrigerator in advance or the pile itself is put on ice. Pacharan is drunk in its pure form for dessert, snacking on any sweet dishes and fruits, but bartenders often include the drink in cocktails, sometimes sloe liquor is diluted with champagne or juice in a ratio of 1:2 or 1:3.
The most popular cocktail: Mix 50 ml of pacharan, 30 ml of lemon juice and one egg white in a shaker until smooth, pour into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a cherry.
Known Manufacturers:
- La Navarra. The secret of this brand is the use of aged distillate for tincture of blackthorn, instead of ordinary alcohol;
- Zoko is the sweetest pacharan on the market;
- Etxeco – the brand produces a flavored drink with a complex bouquet.