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The aguardiente or “guaro”, as they call it in other places, was not born in Colombia. Its history dates back to Christopher Columbus himself, who brought sugar cane on his second voyage and whose cultivation prospered rapidly in Central America, the Caribbean and the Andean region.
“What is it about this drink, that it cheers and dreams, intoxicates and leaves the maid and the lady lying down.”
On March 14, 1973, at the age of 66, the author of the song “I am Colombian”, a true hymn that many of us have sung until our hearts were torn apart, died in Caracas. I am referring to the maestro Rafael Godoy Lozano, who with this beautiful melody managed to increase the patriotic fervor of many generations of compatriots: Give me some aguardiente, a sugarcane aguardiente, from the canes of my valleys and the anise of my mountains.
Don't give me foreign liquor, it's expensive and doesn't taste good, and because I always want what's from my country first.
Oh, how proud I am to be a good Colombian.
Of course Godoy Lozano was not what you would call a "sweet pear", his self-exile in Caracas was due to his strong opposition to the state, as a militant of the Colombian communist party during the hardest time of the union conflict at the Barrancabermeja refinery at the beginning of 1948. But let's not stray from the subject and continue with the meaning of the word aguardiente. We see, the RAE dictionary defines it as "a spirituous drink that, by distillation, is obtained from fruits or some plants", so it is clear that its preparation can cover a wide variety of products, the most popular being cane liquor. .
The art of distilling burst onto the Iberian Peninsula in the year 700 AD, during the Arab invasion, when the still was introduced, an instrument that until then was used in the Middle East to extract essential oils from flowers and produce fragrances and perfumes, but which Europeans used to distill alcoholic beverages, including brandy and gin.
Similarly, the still also began to be used to distill medicinal herbs such as anise, whose healing properties were already known. These preparations acquired different names as the distillation process continued to spread to other European regions.
It is said that the word aguardiente is attributed to the work entitled “Elixir de vinorum mirabilis specierum” by Arnau Vilanova, which was based on experimentation in a still to which fruit was added to extract its essence, thus obtaining a fairly colourless water. A unique drink that quickly triggered euphoria when drunk, and because of this effect it was called “aqua vitae” or “burning water”.
Analysing it in depth, it can be deduced that spirits are classified within the category of simple distillates because they do not have any added flavour. This means that the alcoholic drink produced is 100% pure and contains only the characteristic flavour traits of the raw material being distilled, for example, anise or sugar cane.
In some cases, the liquor can go through different maturation or aging processes, usually in oak barrels to obtain a more refined product with other attributes of controlled aging, and then be bottled and consumed. In some cases, the final product is diluted with water or even mixed with other liquids to regulate the desired amount of alcohol.
Our sugarcane liquor
The origin of the liquor dates back to the introduction of sugarcane in Portugal in the 15th century. Later, during the colonization of Brazil, sugarcane was cultivated in large areas to produce liquor, the tax of which helped finance the costs of said colonization for the Portuguese crown.
From there, the relationship with the sugarcane distillate quickly reached high nuances in the new world: cachaça was produced in Brazil, rum in the Caribbean and liquor in the Andean countries.

In the New Kingdom of Granada, the Spanish government assumed the monopoly of the manufacture and sale of liquor to benefit from the juicy income, and also prohibited the consumption of corn chicha and panela guarapo, which were considered illegal drinks. For this purpose, it was decided to create the first liquor factory of the Viceroyalty in the town of Villa de Leyva.
The chronicler José Antonio Benites narrates that between 1784 and 1787 the “Royal Factory of Distillations of the New Kingdom” was built, whose administration was entrusted to the Antioquian, Don Juan Esteban Ricaurte, father of Antonio, the hero of the battle of San Mateo – in this regard, it is not an exaggeration to think that the paisas have identified with liquor almost since birth.
In the following years, as a sign of fiscal aggressiveness, the Spanish created 14 royal liquor factories in other cities such as El Socorro, Medellín, Valledupar, Ocaña and Neiva. We have already said that liquor is not a Colombian liquor, but it is worth mentioning that the idea of ??perfuming it with anise to give it that special touch is ours.
Liquor adds flavor to life and intoxicates with joy, its flavor and aroma are part of our culture, that is why no compatriot who is in the country or abroad can deny having tried it.
In fact, the drink has been the protagonist of historical moments such as the revolution of the comuneros, where surely, a double or triple drink encouraged our heroine Manuela Beltrán in the plaza of El Socorro, to trample on the decrees that increased taxes on products, including liquor.
It is not far-fetched to think that liquor could have served to increase the courage of the patriots during the wars of independence. In 1810, with the withdrawal of the Spanish government, centralized control of liquor also disappeared.
This gave rise to two phenomena: the first was the appearance of clandestine stills throughout the territory, and the other was the sale of artisanal liquors. This continued until 1905, when an order was issued to regulate the business and give the State the power to have a monopoly on the sale. Finally, four years later, Congress decided that the departmental governments would be in charge of managing and regulating the production of liquors.
Regulation was needed, since it is known that liquor reached a percentage of 45% alcohol - a tough thing - if compared to the 29% that liquors reach today, something that allows a drinker to ingest a few drinks a day without fear of the ravages of a hangover.
Until about 40 years ago, almost all the departments of the country made their own liquors and although most brands have disappeared, their curious names remained in the memory: Aguardiente Tres Brincos (Cesar); Aguardiente Doble Yo (Norte de Santander); Aguardiente Paratebueno (Meta); Aguardiente Onyx (Boyacá), Anís del Mono (Valle del Cauca). And Santander? Of course we also had a factory here.
The new generations may not know that between 1948 and 1999 there was the Santander Liquor Company, of whose brands I highlight two: “Anisado Pichón” and “Aguardiente Superior”, both excellent products that accompanied us for decades. The causes of its disappearance are known: politicking, bureaucracy, poor reformulation of the products and fines that caused the financial collapse of what was once one of the main liquor companies in the country.
Today, of the 19 liquor factories that Colombia once had, only 7 remain: Antioquia, Caldas, Cundinamarca, Cauca, Valle, Tolima and Boyacá. However, aguardiente remains the national drink par excellence, surpassing other liquors. According to the latest statistics published in 2020, aguardiente consumption grew by 20% and it is estimated that Colombians drink about 8.7 million liters per year.
In the book “God is Colombian”, Elkin Obregón mentions that liquor is used for many things: to bring about love, to ignite quarrels, to bring out hatred, to induce confessions, to utter phrases not previously said and to say stupid things… but, above all, it continues to be used to converse and to keep good friends company in bars and houses, without this habit, sometimes daily, allowing us to boast about anything or being too costly for the pocket.
We say goodbye to the beloved liquor, but not before leaving here some verses of the deepest mountain roots:
“This is what a deceased person said at the door of the tobacco shop, if they don't give me liquor I'll get up and scare them away. I want that when I die no relatives cry, that only the still, where liquor is extracted, cries. And if the liquor were to die, what a horrible death, how people would cry, God forbid such a thing.”
Aguardiente is a generic term to designate an alcoholic beverage distilled from an alcoholic ferment. There is a wide variety of agricultural organic substances, whose fermented paste or juice is used for its extraction, such as fruits, cereals, vegetables and grains. In its specific meaning in Spanish, the term implies the typically Ibero-American origin of this type of drink.
Aguardiente comes from a multitude of plants rich in sucrose, which is the essential element in the preparation of the drink (since ethanol arises from it), being in principle the aguardiente alcohol diluted in water. Thus the aguardiente takes its name from "Aqua" and "Ardiente" from the Latin "Ardens", lexeme "Ardie", referring to its low flammability point, although it is also said that the name is due to the sensation of the alcoholic liquid substance when ingested. "Aguardiente" can refer to virtually any alcoholic beverage obtained by distillation, but the name is most commonly applied to those that contain between 30% and 59% alcohol by volume.
Although the emergence of distilled beverage production is related to the use of stills and stills by Arab alchemists in ancient times, distillation methods were not fully developed until the end of Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The production of distilled beverages spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world, giving rise to a wide variety of flavours, colours and aromas, which depend on the type of distillation, the distilled raw material and the different additives. These properties vary from one culture to another according to customs, as well as the use of the term spirit itself.

Types of spirits
Simple spirits
The most significant in the Western world are four:
Rum, related to cachaça, the so-called "cane spirit" and "molasses rum".
Brandy: In addition to Cognac and Armagnac (France), the most notable are brandies from Jerez (Spain), California (United States) and Pisco (Peru and Chile).
Whisky: the most notable are those from Scotland, Ireland, the so-called bourbon based on corn, those from Canada, etc.
Tequila.
Less universally widespread are the very varied fruit spirits: cherry, apple, apricot, among others, very typical of central Europe, the Balkans and Armenia, although they are also found in the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland, etc. Those obtained from palm tree or rice sap are considered exotic. This is the case with tuba, burí or Mongolian spirits, which come from milk. They are usually grouped under the word arrac, a catch-all term widely used to designate exotic spirits.
Compound spirits
The custom of adding anise in some cases was due to the desire to disguise or replace its flavour. In practice, they can be replaced with the so-called "sun and shade": a mixture of anise and brandy, made in the glass or cup itself. It has also been customary to induce other flavours or remove their bad taste by adding herbs and aromas, as is the case with Benedictine liqueur. The Benedictines present two versions of their drink, one mixed with Cognac - for which it is called B.B. Bénédictine, with brandy - less sweet and another that is simply called Bénédictine. The formula of these herbal liqueurs usually includes some anise, although it is barely perceptible. Turkish, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Albanian, Thessalian and Greek Macedonian raki consist of an aniseed wine spirit.
Nowadays, to induce flavours, a spirit is not usually used as a base, but pure and tasteless alcohol; or, in other words, the so-called "vodka for cocktails", which does not intend to communicate nor does it communicate any flavour other than that of water and ethanol. Compound spirits are disappearing and all liqueurs whose origin is prior to the invention of continuous distillation in the 19th century were compound spirits, since there was no way to obtain pure and tasteless alcohol. Only a spirit based on liqueur could be used.
Main simple spirits
Pear brandy
The Germans call the pear Birne and their brandy Birnenwasser or Birnenbranntwein. It is also made in Switzerland and France. Its most elaborate presentation consists of letting a pear grow inside the bottle, for which the bottle has to be applied to the fruit before it grows. The bottle produces a greenhouse effect. The French usually call this presentation poire d'Olive. To make brandy, it is common to use the Williams variety, also known as Williamina, a trademark of the Morand house, and the one known as Barlett. It is a white brandy that does not need to be aged.
Plum brandy
In Spain, Prunus spinosa L. is usually used, with which Pacharán is made.11? To make brandy, two orchard varieties of plum are almost exclusively used: Prunus domestica var. insititia and Prunus insititia var. Syriaca. In Germany, plum brandy, without specifying the variety, is called Pflaumenwasser or Zwetschenwasser and Zwetschgenwasser. In Austria, it is preferably called Zwetschgenwasser. If the variety is damson plum, it is usually specified: Quetschwasser or Mirabellenwasser.
The plum drink called slivovitz or šljivovica is native to Central Europe and the Balkans. It is made from large, sweet Bosnian plums called Pozaga. It is also written as Pocegaca and Posegaca. The meaning of slivovic is synonymous with plum brandy, that is, when we talk about slivovic —or a similar expression— referring to an alcoholic drink, it is understood that we are referring to a plum brandy, without needing to mention the word brandy. Rakia (or rakija) is the name by which plum brandy is known in Bosnia, the entire Balkan region and countries such as Slovakia, Czech Republic or Hungary.
Rowan brandy
Alise is understood to be a brandy from Alsace, made from betula (birch) berries.
Apple brandy
As with grapes, there are two basic types of apple brandy: cider brandy and apple pomace brandy, the first being more expensive and appreciated. Ten litres of cider only produce one litre of brandy, which means that cider is not suitable for drinking, but this does not mean that it is vinegary or bad. With regard to wine, a distinction is made between burning wine, intended for the still, and drinking wine, intended to be drunk as table wine or dessert wine. The same is true for cider. Otherwise it would be prohibitively expensive.
A reference brandy in Europe among cider brandies is the one made in Calvados. It is aged in oak and the product is diversified based on ageing. Sometimes, the expression eau-de-vie de marc de sidre is used to refer to apple pomace brandy. The more correct expression is eau-de-vie de marc de pomme, since apple pomace is the result of treading the apple, regardless of whether after treading it, cider is made with the resulting must or not, taking the must as a drink. Of the community names included in the section cider and perry brandy, nine correspond to France and only one to Spain: Aguardiente de sidra de Asturias. The joint name "cider and perry brandy" is due to the custom of adding perry to cider or treading the apple with a little pear, to correct the acidity. Instead of pear, rowans can also be added, that is, the fruit of the mountain pear tree. Cider brandy is also made in the Basque Country, under the name Sagardoz, a Basque word that literally means "apple brandy".

In England, the Bulmer’s Cider Company at the Hereford Cider Museum produces a cider brandy, with the generic name of cider brandy, called King Offa. It is made using a still over direct heat and according to a long tradition. Somerset Royal is made in Somerset in the style of Calvados.
In the United States, cider brandy is known as applejack. The terminology used to refer to them is that of whiskey. Like whiskey, it is blended, that is, with ethyl alcohol added to the brandy, something generally prohibited in the European Union. Captain Apple Brandy is promoted as straight, that is, without the addition of tasteless alcohol. On the other hand, Laird’s Applejack is presented as a blend, that is, pure and tasteless alcohol mixed with a young brandy, which gives it a fruitier character, although all of them, even the young ones, are aged in oak wood.
Grape brandies





 
Spirits made from grape wine are one of the best known and most commonly used. They can be divided into different types.
Spirits made from wine that have just come out of the still are translucent like water, as is the case with Peruvian pisco, singani or grappa. Others are aged in barrels that give them a darker colour, such as brandy, cognac and in many cases Chilean pisco.
Brandy is the name given to spirits made from grapes that have undergone an ageing process. It is usually aged in oak barrels and then acquires its characteristic brown colour. It is also often called cognac. Cognac is a protected geographical designation, so it is prohibited to use that word commercially to designate spirits made from wine that do not come from that particular region (Cognac) in France. Thus, it is only called Brandy in the Netherlands. If the spirit comes from the distillation of wine lees in the presence of grape marc or only from the distillation of grape marc, it is called marc spirit or simply marc. In some places, such as the Canary Islands, it is also known as Parra or Canna de parra.
Grain spirit
Main articles: Whiskey, Sake, Soju, Korn (liqueur) and Vodka.
Community legislation distinguishes three sales designations in relation to products derived from the distillation of cereals: Grain spirit, Grain brandy and Whiskey.15? "Grain brandy" is considered a special kind of "grain spirit". Whiskey, on the other hand, is not considered a kind of "grain spirit", because the sales designation whiskey requires the malting of the cereal grains. The most famous grain spirit, which is not whiskey, is the typical German Korn made from wheat.
Sake is extracted from rice. The drink obtained as a result of the distillation of sake is also called sake. This distillate is used to strengthen sake, without ever exceeding 20% ??vol. Sake is thus converted into a fortified wine.
Rice spirit is currently produced in China, among other eastern countries, under the name Samshu. Soju is native to Korea. Very similar even in name is Japanese shochu, with two varieties: ko and otsu. The first is made from rice, but also from rye, unrefined sugar, sweet potatoes and corn, by distillation in an alquithara. The second is actually made with molasses as the main ingredient.
In the Far East, the most commonly used grain to obtain spirit is sorghum. Sorghum bicolor (L.) or sweet sorghum is treated like sugar cane, squeezing its juice. From this juice, wine and brandy can be obtained. The variety used to make the beer known as "opaque" is called "cafforum" of S. Sorghum vulgare Pers.
China is the first country to distill sorghum for drinks. The most traditional is obtained from the grain, the most famous being those known as Maotai and Fen. Maotai is produced in the province of Guizhou, where Maotai is the name of a small town near the Chishui River in that province. Its prestige is based on local sorghum. Throughout China there are thousands of varieties of sorghum. Fen is believed to be 1,500 years old. It is made in the province of Shanxi. Wuliangye is made in the province of Sichuan, with 60% sorghum. The rest is two kinds of rice, corn and wheat. From the same province and with the same components is Jiannanchun, but it only has 40% sorghum. Liquor is also obtained from the sap and molasses produced by the production of sorghum sugar. This production in China is only a few decades old. The sugar in sorghum sap – 70% sucrose, glucose and fructose – has long been resistant to human crystallization.

Cherry and Morello Cherry Brandy
Among the alcoholic drinks made from morello cherries, perhaps the most famous is maraschino, which has a 30-35% alcohol content. Maraschino is a brandy made from a variety of morello cherry called marasca, which has made some Dalmatian towns, especially Zara, famous. Girolamo Luxardo is proud to produce the original maraschino, which dates back to 1821 in Zara. Traditional Dalmatian maraschino was produced by fermenting the fruit, which had been de-seeded. A few leaves from the tree itself were crushed together with the fruit. The fruit used had to be green. After fermentation, the mixture was distilled, with a little wine from the fruit added.
The typical Black Forest cherry brandy is made from wild black cherries, as is Lapoutroie, so called because it is harvested in this small Alsatian village in the Kaysersberg valley between Strasbourg and Colmar. There may be more or less crushed stones, depending on whether the bitterness is desired. There is now a distillery called Maraska. It produces fruit liqueurs, including slivovitz, made from blue plums, and kruskovac, made from pears. The marrasca cherry brandy is called marraschino. Such names are misleading. The Bardinet house makes a 40% alcohol-free brandy called Maraschino, and another of the same strength called Kirsch. The Germans – like the Swiss – have made a name for themselves by making cherry brandy. Hence, even in Spanish this brandy is called Kirsch, which means cherry. The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy includes the word kirch, with the meaning of cherry brandy, perhaps due to the influence of the Royal Decree of 22-XII-1908, which determined it thus. The Germans distinguish between cherry liqueur Kirschgeist and cherry brandy: Kirschwasser.
In Spain, the most famous cherry brandies come from the Jerte Valley, in Extremadura. But the cherry brandy from the Jerte Valley 42% vol. does not call itself kirsch.
Agave brandy
Tequila and Mezcal.
Agave americana L. is the species from which Mezcal and Tequila are made. The varieties used to make the famous Tequila Brandy are generically called Blue Agave. Tequila takes its name from the city of Tequila (Jalisco), famous for producing it. Mezcal is not produced in Tequila, but mainly in Oaxaca. Other spirits made from agave are "bacanora" - made from a very small agave - named after the city of Bacanora in Sonora. "Raicilla", made from another small agave called lechuguilla, native to Jalisco. Another agave, Dasylirion wheeleri, gives rise to "Sotol", typical of Boquillos and Chihuahua. "Comiteca" is another distillate made from agave.
The agave species used to make the spirit called Mezcal are about eight. Above all, Agave rigida Mill is used in 80 percent of its production. Tequila acquired personality and fame as a drink from the year 1800; later mezcal. Previously, all these spirits were generically called mezcal wine. These two spirits are imitated in many countries, which usually consist of pure and tasteless alcohol with a little Maguey Spirit.

There are other fermented drinks made from agave, but they are not obtained by distillation (see pulque). Mezcal is not obtained from pulque because it is not distillable, as it contains certain polymers. Mezcal is usually presented with a worm called "Juanito". Tequila is never presented with a worm.
Cocuy liquor is referred to as a distillate from the roots of Agave sisalana, native to Venezuela, that is, from Agave rigida (Mill), with which mezcal is usually made but not exactly. In reality, Cocuy is made with Agave cocui (Trelease).
Sugar cane liquor
Rum, Cachaza and Cane (drink).
Sugar cane liquor can be obtained from by-products of the sugar industry or directly from cane juice. In the manufacture of sugar, a first by-product called cachaza is obtained. It is produced before the crystallization of sugar, as a result of the clarification of the must. Cachaça is used to make rum called "Cachaça". Brazil has made Cachaça rum or simply Cachaça famous. Once the sugar crystallization has taken place, a residue called molasses or molasses, in plural, remains. Most rum is made from molasses.
Rum can also be obtained directly from sugar cane juice. This rum is called Aguardiente de caña as opposed to Aguardiente de molasses de caña. In Peru it is called yonke (yonque or llonque), cañazo or shacta.20 In Chile and the Southern Cone it is simply called caña, in areas of Central and South America the name aguardiente predominates without designating origin, but in other countries such as Spain the word "caña" is usually stated on bottles: flor de caña, la mejor caña, caña escogido, etc. The French call this type of rum rhum agricole and it is marketed under that name from the French Antilles. The rest are sometimes disparagingly referred to as industrial rum. Molasses rum, with a more pronounced flavour, is usually more appreciated than cane rum, although cane rum has its followers.
The aging of this type of spirits is optional. In Venezuela, in addition to being called spirit, it is also called clear cane or white cane (as in Paraguay). The low quality of this drink leads to it being colloquially known as lavagallo. It is also common for the spirit that is called "cane" without any other explicitness (usually dark cane) to be subjected to an infusion process in different flavours, such as dried peaches, butia drupes or pitanga berries.
In Mexico, charquis is made from sugar cane. A small piece of the cane is left inside the plastic bottle to confirm its authenticity and demonstrate its natural origin.

Main compound spirits

With anise
The vast majority of anise liqueurs have a pure and tasteless alcohol as their ethyl base. But before the invention of the column still, which allows distillation at 96 degrees, with the rest being water, this was not possible. Rather than an anise liqueur, it was an aniseed wine spirit. Among these producers of aniseed wine spirit, the small mountain villages of Ojén, Rute and Cazalla stood out.21? For this reason, these products are usually included among the spirits.
"Pacharán" (patxaran in Basque) is a liqueur, whose alcohol content is between 25 and 30% of the volume, obtained by macerating sloes in aniseed spirit, characteristic of the regions of Navarre and Aragon. Pacharán was already well known and drunk in Navarre since the Middle Ages.
Raki, a drink native to Turkey, is also often made from aniseed-flavoured spirit. Today, ouzo from Greece, sambuca, mistrà, anisenne and tutone from Italy, aniseed and pastis from France, crystal from Algeria, as well as most aniseed from Spain, are actually the result of continuous distillation of alcohol obtained from any plant with the addition of anise in the final phase.


 
Aguardiente Antioqueño de Colombia.
 
Aguardiente Sampuí de Sincelejo - Sucre - Colombia.

In Colombia, aniseed brandy is produced by the liquor industries of several departments and is the alcoholic beverage of its kind with the greatest cultural identification and actual consumption in the country, in addition to being the exclusive beverage to which the term brandy, "Colombian brandy" or guaro refers. The main brands of Colombian brandy are: Blanco del Valle (Valle del Cauca), Antioqueño (Antioquia), Nectar (Cundinamarca), Nariño (Nariño), Del Putumayo (Putumayo), Extra del Caquetá (Caquetá), Quindíano (Quindío), Líder (Boyacá), Llanero (Meta), Anisado (Magdalena), Tres Esquinas (Bolívar), Sampuí (Sucre), Cristal (Caldas), Caucano (Cauca), Tapa Roja (Tolima), Doble Anís (Huila), Costeño and Coco Anís (Atlántico), Platino (Chocó), ICL Puro Colombia (Valle del Cauca); In addition, there is a new trend of premium spirits such as Real (Antioquia), Centenario and Aguardiente Nectar Premium (in homage to Antonio Nariño) (Cundinamarca) Aguardiente Premium Cumbé (Quindio), Mil demonios (Magdalena), Júbilo (Armenia) and Origen (Valle del Cauca).
In 2006, the spirit was nominated as a cultural symbol of Colombia in the contest organized by Semana magazine with the support of Caracol TV, the Ministry of Culture and Colombia es pasión.22 In 2014 in the Red Room of the Tequendama Hotel in Bogotá, the Colombian Society of Chemical Sciences and engineer José Fernando Botero González established for the world the Guinness Record of the largest tasting of Colombian spirit/Anise/Aniseed in the world.
In Peru there is the tradition of the Najar anise brand. This maceration is part of the culinary tradition and the department of Arequipa. It is known as an excellent digestive.
With juniper berries
Juniper berries are the fruit of the juniper tree, which is a component of many alcoholic drinks. Before continuous distillation, all gins consisted of inducing flavours into a spirit made from either grapes or grains. Today, so-called London gins and gins simply called gin do not use spirit as the alcoholic base, but rather pure, tasteless alcohol.
However, gin is still made in the old-fashioned way in Holland. The word Oude, which means old and appears on the label, does not usually refer to the ageing of the drink, but to the fact that it is made in the old-fashioned way. The base is a grain spirit which gives it a slightly brown colour. To distinguish it from gin, it is called - even outside Holland - Genever or Jenever. Corenwyn and Corenwinj are also old-fashioned gins. They have an even stronger cereal flavour.
With caraway
The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy gives the following definition of Cúmel: "Liquor flavoured with cumin, with a very sweet taste." It indicates that it comes from Kümmel, a German word to which it attributes the meaning of cumin. This is a bad translation, since cumel is made with caraway.
With milk
The Irish are fond of presenting a great variety of drinks based on mixing whisky with dairy products. In the seventies, a very successful one appeared, Bailey's Irish Cream or simply Bailey's. The merit of this liqueur comes from having found a formula so that milk does not coagulate.24
In Australia there is another similar drink called Conticream. In addition to milk, it contains chocolate. Whisky drinks with milk and honey are very common and accepted in the British Isles.25
In Chile there are traditional preparations of liquor with milk and its derivatives, among which the so-called "cola de mono" stands out, to which cinnamon and coffee are also added; and the Licor de Oro, which is prepared with whey.
In Bolivia, they have ambrosia, which is a preparation of singani (grape brandy), sugar, and cinnamon powder. This preparation is placed directly under the cow's udder and is taken immediately after milking the milk. There is also sucumbe, which is a slow-cooked preparation of singani milk, cinnamon, and egg, a traditional drink for the San Juan festivities.
With herbs
There are many herbal-flavored spirits, which predate the invention of continuous steam distillation, which allows the spirit to be replaced by a pure, tasteless neutral alcohol. Some are presented as being composed of many selected herbs. Some flavors do indeed come from herbs; others from other botanicals, cultivated and wild. The addition of herbs to spirits seems to come, almost always, from the need to improve the bad taste of the spirit. This combination of flavors aims to be—in wine terminology—balanced; that is, so that one flavor does not overpower others. They usually have a bit of everything: a bit of angelica, a bit of orange peel, a bit of anise, etc. Herbal liqueurs are more difficult to make than fruit liqueurs, because herbs—along with the desired flavors—tend to impart unpleasant flavors as well. Nowadays, essential oils are often used, since they exist from practically any plant: hyssop, marjoram, mint, gentian, anise, juniper, thyme, etc.
Famous are the spirits flavoured with herbs of conventual origin, such as the Grande Chartreuse based on those typical artemisia of Savoy called "Genepí", because of that area of ??the Savoyard Alps called Génépi or Genepy. The Benedictines made the liqueur called Bénédictine in Fécamp, which was apparently invented by the monk and herbalist Dom Bernardo Vincelli in the 16th century. The Benedictines present two versions of their drink, one mixed with brandy, which is why it is called "B.B" (Bénédictine with Brandy) less sweet, and another that is simply called Bénédictine,Notes 14? whose duplication was due to the fact that many fans considered that it was too sweet alone and drank it mixed with brandy.
The Benedictine monastery of Ettal in Germany also produces Ettaler. The Abbey of Lérius in Languedoc produces a green and yellow version of the liqueur called Lerina. The abbey of Montserrat in Catalonia calls this liqueur Montserrat aromes. American Poor Clare nuns make a honey-flavoured herbal liqueur from a Belgian convent in Dirant, the Claristine. The Trappists make Trappistine, which consists of herbs with wine brandy. Capuchins and Carmelites also make herbal liqueurs.
The town of Spa in Belgium sells a beauty product for rubbing the body as “Elixir de Spa” and a herbal liqueur known as “Elixir de Spa” of 40% vol. In the Balearic Islands we have “Hierbas de Mallorca”, “Hierbas de Menorca” and “Hierbas Ibicencas”. In Bohemia, Becherovka is produced, which was initially a stomachic pharmaceutical product, until it was produced as a liqueur due to demand.
In Poland, a very aromatic liqueur, often featuring a bison, Zubrówka, has been prepared from "bison grass" (Hierochloe odorata L.) since the 17th century. Strega, meaning witch, is a well-known and old liqueur from Benevento. It was apparently invented by Giuseppe Alberti in 1860 and is made from sixty-two plant species. There is also Centerba, which is a generic name. A so-called latte di suocera (mother-in-law's milk) is described as Centerba liqueur, which is presented as coming from Malay pirates and is made in Bergamo; an example of a production house is Centerba Toro.
The word Aiguebelle refers to a French 30-degree liqueur based on about forty plants, aged in oak, created by Trappist monks from around fifty herbs, with a green and yellow version. The green one has a higher alcohol content, as is customary for this type of drink. Galliano is a yellow liqueur with 35% vol. that is made near Milan based on many infusions and distillations.? In 1868, Francesco Averna launched a highly successful Amaro that bears his name: Averna; the recipe for Amaro Averna had been obtained by his father Salvatore at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, in Sicily.


Existen otros destilados con hierbas como la Mentuccia, de origen italiano, que está hecha al parecer con 100 hierbas, el Jägermeister, alemán, o la Vieille curé, francesa, que consiste en la maceración de ciento cincuenta hierbas en brandy.
With wormwood
The Royal Spanish Academy Dictionary gives the meaning of Absinthe as an alcoholic beverage and Absinth as the plant from which it is made. It gives the meaning of wormwood as both a plant and a drink. In English the plant is called wormwood while the drink is called absinthe or absinth.

How can you drink it?

Aguardiente, like any alcoholic beverage, should be consumed in moderation to avoid abuse and negative effects on health. The best way to enjoy aguardiente is in controlled quantities and in a safe environment. You can drink it alone, in small shots, or mix it in cocktails such as "Canelazo" or with fruit juices. Abusing this drink, on the other hand, implies excessive consumption that can cause problems such as intense hangovers, liver damage and dependency. The key is to always drink responsibly and know your limits.

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