Ratafia - Catalán liqueur

It is an alcoholic drink made with walnuts and various herbs: mint, lemongrass and sage. The liqueur is made through maceration, for at least two months, with alcohol and/or anise, with green walnuts, with plants and/or flowers and fruits and/or spices, together with sugar. Once done, the liquid is decanted and aged in wooden casks. The result is an intense sweet drink of caramel color with an alcohol content of 26-29%. It is usually taken after meals as digestive liqueur, at room temperature, but also as an aperitif or nightcap, with ice.

Making Ratafia is a tradition that is found in most of the old Catalonia (Girona, Pallars, Alt Urgell, Vallès, Segarra and Garrigues).

Ratafia can be found in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencian Country, Occitania, France, Corsica, Euskadi, Galicia, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, England, Scotland, USA, Poland, Ukraine and Brazil.

In Catalonia many people, especially in the countryside, make their own homemade Ratafia. They macerate the alcohol and/or anise with a piece of lemon, four or five cloves, a nutmeg, the peel of a green walnut in pieces and a pinch of cinnamon. Herbs like mint and lemon are also added to get a degree of aroma. All this is set for 40 days in sun and shade. This is the way that the peasants of Catalonia make Ratafia, the only country where this liqueur is made.
 

                                         Making homemade Ratafia                                 



The Ratafia Legend
…according to Jacint Verdaguer (one of the greatest poets of Catalán literature)

It is said that once, in a farmhouse in Catalonia land, three bishops met; one from Vic, the Archbishop from Barcelona and the one from Tarragona. They met to discuss an issue of a small territorial council.

After the meeting and having agreed on the subject by signing the agreement, they asked the farmer to give them a drink to quench their thirst. The farmer, as a major request, pulled a big bottle of Ratafia, which was served in three glasses. The drink was new to them, and they liked it very much.

- What drink is this so good? …they asked. What’s its name?
- It is a drink that we do here, ‘said the farmer.
- Does it not have a name? - ‘said one of the bishops.
- I do not know of a name for this drink, ‘said the farmer.
- Well, since no one has given it a name yet, let’s give it one now - said the bishop. What name shall we give it then? If we found one that was the hallmark of the treaty we just did, it really would be the best.
The three gentlemen bishops thought a bit, until one of them said:
- Rata fiat! (“It is signed” in Latin)

With the approval of the bishops, who celebrated the joke, this Catalán liqueur, which is the most Catalán of all liqueurs, was baptized with a Latin name, and that name is known everywhere.

Ratafia goes really well with cakes, with ice creams, as an aperitif and some people drink it also at bars in a tumbler with ice. Its aroma is quite powerful and it tastes of herbs and anise.


Ratafia Catalana

RMP