For non-drinkers...Until!

[Arn]

I seldom drank alcohol in my teenage years and, to be honest, beer taste like soapy water. As will happen, as we mature and fall into bad company tastes change.
Now, I'm not suggesting my fellow pilgrims on Camino are “bad company” but a few have suggested, encouraged and, dare I say “dared” me to try an unfamiliar adult beverage, or two, er, more than two.
In my case it is Orujo.
My understanding is, Orujo is the equivalent of homemade hooch and can vary by color and region. Many albergues and restaurants have this ambrosia and I try as many as possible to find the “perfect” Orujo.
So, leaving some obvious non-teetotaleers aside...yes you @Robo, whom among this august group of pilgrims has come upon a beverage they heretofore either outright rejected, or hadn’t considered prior to their Camino? And, under what circumstances.
Buen “orujo anvejecido, por favor” Camino
Arn

 

[malingerer]

I seldom drank alcohol in my teenage years and, to be honest, beer taste like soapy water. As will happen, as we mature and fall into bad company tastes change.
Now, I'm not suggesting my fellow pilgrims on Camino are “bad company” but a few have suggested, encouraged and, dare I say “dared” me to try an unfamiliar adult beverage, or two, er, more than two.
In my case it is Orujo.
My understanding is, Orujo is the equivalent of homemade hooch and can vary by color and region. Many albergues and restaurants have this ambrosia and I try as many as possible to find the “perfect” Orujo.
So, leaving some obvious non-teetotaleers aside...yes you @Robo, whom among this august group of pilgrims has come upon a beverage they heretofore either outright rejected, or hadn’t considered prior to their Camino? And, under what circumstances.
Buen “orujo anvejecido, por favor” Camino
Arn

I now make my own by adding rosemary, chili, and other herbs to my mead! YUM! Have 2 gallons coming along nicely in the winery (AKA big cupboard ) Only drink it in sherry glasses of an evening when it is ready of course! not the sort of thing one rushes! Some flamenco on the turntable makes for a chill summer sunset!

Buen camino

Samarkand.

 

[simply B]

"Patxaran" - suggested to me at a small group dinner in Navarrette on Camino#1. Never had heard of it before despite travels in Spain a couple decades before. Liked it!

"Orujo" - the clear version, offered as a coffee "additive" (cafe con leche mas fuerte) somewhere outside of Portomarin, I think. Also on Camino #1. I liked it but thought it perhaps a bit "dangerous" as I still had some distance to walk that day.

B

 

[Ninja]

I was introduced to Orujo de Hierbas by some cyclists on one of my Caminos. They strode into a bar and ordered Orujo in small glasses and rinsed them down in a hurry. What on earth was that stuff? Was it another kind of yellow arrow? Before they cycled on, they offered me a glass. I have been a fan of the drink ever since!

I miss walking in Spain. I miss the taste of Orujo. @ivar could you please have little ‘tourist’ bottles in your store?

 

[JabbaPapa]

Don't much like Orujo, though I tolerate it -- but the purely Spanish one I really can't stand is the Sol Y Sombra.

 

[Jarrad]

whom among this august group of pilgrims has come upon a beverage they heretofore either outright rejected, or hadn’t considered prior to their Camino?

I love red wine, but can't handle the headache that I get from even one glass. But on night #1 at the Auberge du Pelerin in SJPdP, wine was served and it was pretty clear that not participating in the toast would be bad manners. So I was drinking the wine. No problem with red wine headaches either that night or any other on the Camino, with the exception of a meal in Leon where the quantity of red wine was certainly a factor.

 

[Arn]

I love red wine, but can't handle the headache that I get from even one glass. But on night #1 at the Auberge du Pelerin in SJPdP, wine was served and it was pretty clear that not participating in the toast would be bad manners. So I was drinking the wine. No problem with red wine headaches either that night or any other on the Camino, with the exception of a meal in Leon where the quantity of red wine was certainly a factor.

Not all wines are created equal. My family made red wine every fall. The air in my neighborhood fairly announced “its wine making time.” Mass produced wines often have additives that can have side effects. I've found that local wines, meant to be on table now, are less apt to result in headaches.

 

[domigee]

I discovered Orujo and Pacharán on the Camino. Funnily enough, I don’t think either of those two taste great outside Spain.
Oh, I nearly forgot! Also a Spanish cognac, Cardenal Mendoza, absolute nectar!
I think a small glass of Orujo was offered to us in a restaurant at the end of the meal,I had never heard of it before. A Spanish pilgrim introduced me to Pacharán (not sure of spelling) in an albergue in Torres del Rio, la Pata y la Oca and as for the brandy, a pilgrim offered me a glass purely for medicinal purposes (I had a terrible cold and sore throat ). We were in a posh hotel not far from Santiago.
Aaah, memories !

 

[Jarrad]

Oh! One more: Pedro Ximenez sherry! I didn't know even know what sherry was at the time. Apparently Pedro Ximenez comes from southern Spain and is considered to be one of the sweetest wines in the world, if not the sweetest. It is so rich and dark that it surprised me to learn that it comes from a variety of white grapes. I like a tawny port once in a while, but the Pedro Ximenez, while tasty and quite a treat, was so intense that I had not thought to buy a bottle here in the US.

But this winter I thought I'd try making Christmas puddings (think fruit cake, but much better) and tried a recipe from Nigella that called for soaking the dried fruits in Pedro Ximenez. Picked up a bottle and I let the various dried fruits soak in the sherry for almost a week. The strong raisin, plum and molasses flavors absolutely worked -- salivating just thinking about it. In fact, it was so good that I made a second batch. Pedro will be back in my Christmas puddings next winter.

 

[Sara_Dhooma]

Crema de Orujo with the creamy vanilla and toffee flavours is positively divine!

 

[trecile]

Crema de Orujo with the creamy vanilla and toffee flavours is positively divine!

I agree. I imbibed a little too much one cool evening in O Cebreiro.

 

[domigee]

Crema de Orujo with the creamy vanilla and toffee flavours is positively divine!

after all my years spent in Spain and on the Camino, I have never heard of it!
I soooo need to go back

 

[Arn]

Oh! One more: Pedro Ximenez sherry! I didn't know even know what sherry was at the time. Apparently Pedro Ximenez comes from southern Spain and is considered to be one of the sweetest wines in the world, if not the sweetest. It is so rich and dark that it surprised me to learn that it comes from a variety of white grapes. I like a tawny port once in a while, but the Pedro Ximenez, while tasty and quite a treat, was so intense that I had not thought to buy a bottle here in the US.

But this winter I thought I'd try making Christmas puddings (think fruit cake, but much better) and tried a recipe from Nigella that called for soaking the dried fruits in Pedro Ximenez. Picked up a bottle and I let the various dried fruits soak in the sherry for almost a week. The strong raisin, plum and molasses flavors absolutely worked -- salivating just thinking about it. In fact, it was so good that I made a second batch. Pedro will be back in my Christmas puddings next winter.

So, when do you invite us to savor your masterpiece?

 

[Jarrad]

Haha! It's great if you are carb loading before your next long-distance trek. Unfortunately, I have no need to fatten up!

 

[Isca-camigo]

I love red wine, but can't handle the headache that I get from even one glass

This sums up my relationship with red wine prior to my 2nd Camino- the CF. I realised when I was on it I could drink the local wines along the Camino without suffering headaches.

Im not sure when I had Orujo for the first time as a chupito size drink, it could be my 3rd camino on the Camino Portuguese, but I definitely had it on the CF in Queimada a couple of times and also in Cafe con Orujo(carajillo) a few times. Since then I have gone full Spanish on Orujo, when I am on Camino I see every social situation in a bar/restaurant as a possible chupito moment.

 

[Marbe2]

I , personally, enjoy an occasional drink of local wine or beer, or an unusual local beverage when traveling....In spain, my choice would be a local wine without additives. But I really love trying all the different olive oils. I usually bring home a bottle of it!
On, one hand, I can count the amount of alcohol I might consume on any camino. I know this will not be a popular statement, but I am truely concerned when I see people walking Caminos and hiking mountains in other countries and they are drinking wine or beer while on the trails....as well as pilgrims stumbling into their bunks late at night....

 

[SabsP]

I , personally, enjoy an occasional drink of local wine or beer, or an unusual local beverage when traveling....In spain, my choice would be a local wine in Spain without additives. But I really love trying all the different olive oils. I usually bring home a bottle of it!
On, one hand, I can count the amount of alcohol I might consume on any camino. I know this will not be a popular statement, but I am truely concerned when I see people walking Caminos and hiking mountains in other countries and they are drinking wine or beer while on the trails....as well as pilgrims stumbling into their bunks late at night....

Thank you @Marbe2 : I do like the occasional alcoholic drink, also on a Camino but in moderation. And I feel the same as you when it comes to walking and drinking at the same time ( or smoking for that matter ).

Note to future pilgrims : rest assured that it is possible to walk a Camino without having to drink alcohol. No one will frown upon you when you do not drink alcohol.

 

[C clearly]

I know this will not be a popular statement,...

I don't think it will be unpopular, either. While there can be a fair amount of joking about people's enjoyment and occasional overconsumption of Spanish wine, orujo, etc., and I have been part of social groups that are enjoying both, I don't recall any sense of peer pressure on others who declined to consume alcoholic drinks. But I do support your concern.

I agree with the reassurance...

Note to future pilgrims : rest assured that it is possible to walk a Camino without having to drink alcohol. No one will frown upon you when you do not drink alcohol.

 

[GailGwyn]

Crema de Orujo with the creamy vanilla and toffee flavours is positively divine!

Sounds wonderful

 

[witsendwv]

I am not familiar with orujo, but a vermut before dinner opens the appetite. We have learned in the past year how to make our own Spanish vermut, and have been experimenting with different flavors. It is a wonderful with a bit of cheese and olives early in the evening. I am looking forward to being able to sit outside in the evening and imagine I am in Spain again.

 

[crhutch]

Love Orujo! I make my own using cheap grappa. Now in case y'all don't know this, you can walk into almost any pharmacy in Santiago (and I assume Galicia) and purchase packets of pre-mixed herbs to make Orujo de Hierbas. Every time I am in Santiago I buy about 20 packets Here is picture of my almost finished Orujo and the packet.rujo and the packet.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Love Orujo! I make my own using cheap grappa. Now in case y'all don't know this, you can walk into almost any pharmacy in Santiago (and I assume Galicia) and purchase packets of pre-mixed herbs to make Orujo de Hierbas. Every time I am in Santiago I buy about 20 packets Here is picture of my almost finished Orujo and the packet.View attachment 94753View attachment 94754rujo and the packet.

I hope that you used it before 2017

 

[Robo]

Never tried Orujo

Looking for some in Sydney.
This came up?
Same thing perhaps?

https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_911694/licor-43-spanish-liqueur-700ml

Seems Orujo, is a 'pomace brandy' like Grappa?

 

[Robo]

Love Orujo! I make my own using cheap grappa. Now in case y'all don't know this, you can walk into almost any pharmacy in Santiago (and I assume Galicia) and purchase packets of pre-mixed herbs to make Orujo de Hierbas. Every time I am in Santiago I buy about 20 packets Here is picture of my almost finished Orujo and the packet.View attachment 94753View attachment 94754rujo and the packet.

Can buy those herbs online.

Licor Gallego Zirall Verde

Licor de hierbas gallego zirall verde, elaborado en Allariz a partir de plantas medicinales seleccionadas cuidadosamente por sus propieddes digestivas.

farmafresh.es

How do you make the drink?

 

[Turga]

Never tried Orujo

Looking for some in Sydney.
This came up?
Same thing perhaps?

https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_911694/licor-43-spanish-liqueur-700ml

Seems Orujo, is a 'pomace brandy' like Grappa?

As the ad says that the liqueur has "sensationally smooth layered flavours of vanilla, citrus and caramel" I don't think it can be orujo - that is definitely not the way I remember the taste

 

[trecile]

Can buy those herbs online.

Licor Gallego Zirall Verde

Licor de hierbas gallego zirall verde, elaborado en Allariz a partir de plantas medicinales seleccionadas cuidadosamente por sus propieddes digestivas.

farmafresh.es

How do you make the drink?

How do you make it?
Here are the directions from the site for those herbs:
Macerar las hierbas en 1 litro y medio de aguardiente durante 15 o 20 días. Disolver 1/2 kilo de azúcar en 250 ml de agua Mezclar el macerado de hierbas con el agua azucarada y filtrar

In English - Soak the herbs in one and a half liters of aguardiente for 15 to 20 days.
Dissolve 1/2 kilo of sugar in 250 ml water. Mix the alcohol and herb mixture with the sugar water and then filter.

 

[peregrino_tom]

In my experience, when the owner of the establishment is enjoying your company then you may be invited to sample the home-brewed orujo. I can’t claim to be interesting enough to have had this honour bestowed on me in my own right. But on a few occasions I have ended up grouped with fellow pilgrims, much more engaging (+spanish speaking) than myself and so benefitted by association.
I recall one particular evening in the company of las Tres Princesas on their wayward Camino Ingles of 2014. I’d first met them leaving Ferrol wearing their absurd yellow arrow badges with their first names written on and chatting non-stop. I was relieved when they took the railway line path over the water, while I went right around the bay. But a day later the cool afternoon silence of the Betanzos albergue dormitory ended abruptly. My instinctive reaction to the incessant pop radio on phones and smoking out of the dormitory windows was glowering frowning indignation. But that sort of became curiosity and then bemusement and that sort of turned into a gleeful so-whattery.
By the time we met up at Bruma they'd picked up two likely lads and the pilgrim band became even louder and sillier. At the time there was no albergue at Sigueiro and not many obvious places to stay. I probably would have walked straight on to Santiago. But someone found a roadhouse on the N-550 a couple of km off the camino with space for all - and somehow that included me.
It was one of those places where when you step off the camino you could be 1000km from the camino not one or two. You're just back in regular Spain/Galicia on a busy road with thundering trucks.
In the evening we went over the road to your standard roadside restaurant for a meal. We were there for a couple of hours until we were the last people in the place. But instead of the owner glowering at us and giving us the hurry-up, he was really intrigued by these cheeky pilgrim characters. When you run a standard roadside place, what is that makes a good day? is it when you get plenty of customers and finish on time to get home? Or is it when some boisterous, strange but lovable folk descend out of nowhere on your quiet routine and the place fills with genuine good spirits?
When we reached the end of the meal he summoned up various lable-less bottles including two of Orujo, one yellow, the other an orangey red. We were were all invited to partake and give a view, which was unanimously favourable, to his obvious enjoyment. Much later we swayed back across a deserted highway to our beds.
And a couple of days later las Tres Princesas had returned to Catalonia and the Basque country to resume their highly responsible professional roles. But having left a trail of stardust in their wake.
That’s my orujo story. Probably best heard with a glass in hand, beside a good fire, where between sips you can inspect the strange coloured liquid in the flickering light. Let’s hope that’s not so far off now.

https://flic.kr/p/fN84QN

 

[trecile]

Love Orujo! I make my own using cheap grappa. Now in case y'all don't know this, you can walk into almost any pharmacy in Santiago (and I assume Galicia) and purchase packets of pre-mixed herbs to make Orujo de Hierbas. Every time I am in Santiago I buy about 20 packets Here is picture of my almost finished Orujo and the packet.View attachment 94753View attachment 94754rujo and the packet.

That is quite green compared to Orujo that I've had in Spain.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

My little story is of a restaurant (I no longer remember the name) on the Camino Frances in Astorga that we had read good things about. My little group of four family members eagerly stepped in the restaurant for dinner and were taken upstairs and seated. Towards the end of our meal we were told by he waitor to hurry up as a tour group had reserved all the tables and would be arriving any minute. We rushed to finish eating and quickly headed back downstairs. The owner was behind the bar as we were ready to leave. He apologized pofusely and invited us to sit at the bar where he poured us each a complimentary glass of orujo. It was a very nice ending and we appreciated his gesture of kindness for being rushed out of his establishment...we all left with a smile.

 

[JabbaPapa]

In my experience, when the owner of the establishment is enjoying your company then you may be invited to sample the home-brewed orujo

Down here, it's usually their own Limoncello -- though there have been a few instances where it's been their 80%-90% alcohol or so eau de vie instead.

 

[Robo]

How do you make it?
Here are the directions from the site for those herbs:
Macerar las hierbas en 1 litro y medio de aguardiente durante 15 o 20 días. Disolver 1/2 kilo de azúcar en 250 ml de agua Mezclar el macerado de hierbas con el agua azucarada y filtrar

In English - Soak the herbs in one and a half liters of aguardiente for 15 to 20 days.
Dissolve 1/2 kilo of sugar in 250 ml water. Mix the alcohol and herb mixture with the sugar water and then filter.

OMG! Sounds like Coca Cola with alcohol. All that sugar

 

[crhutch]

That is quite green compared to Orujo that I've had in Spain.

I let mine la

That is quite green compared to Orujo that I've had in Spain.

I let mine macerare longer than suggested than suggested.

 

[Tincatinker]

That is quite green compared to Orujo that I've had in Spain.

Just needs diluting with more Orujo
Orujo Blanco / Aguardiente is the raw (base) spirit distilled from the winemaking leftovers. As is Marc & Pomace depending on whereabouts you keep your Still. There are some pretty fine cider, perry & plum based distillates about too. Adding herbs, honey, coffee and/or sugar don’t change the nature of the beast they just mellow that first hit. In Asturias you’ll often find the unlabeled bottle under the counter is flavoured with fennel, or more likely yarrow, or even mountain clover.
Happily consumption is not compulsory (unlike mint tea in Moroccan carpet shops) but, if you are inclined my advice would be avoid anything with a printed label - to much sugar added, you might get a hangover

 

[crhutch]

I hope that you used it before 2017

Yes that was an old box I’ve kept. But I have about 3 bottles from that series of packets.

 

[crhutch]

As the ad says that the liqueur has "sensationally smooth layered flavours of vanilla, citrus and caramel" I don't think it can be orujo - that is definitely not the way I remember th ex

Never tried Orujo

Looking for some in Sydney.
This came up?
Same thing perhaps?

https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_911694/licor-43-spanish-liqueur-700ml

Seems Orujo, is a 'pomace brandy' like Grappa?

orujo is the spanish equivalent to Italian grappa.

 

[Tincatinker]

Grappa, Orujo, Marc, Pomace, Slivovitch (pardon spelling), White Lightning: the list is endless. Take carbohydrates; ferment to convert sugars into alcohol (usually at 10% by volume); distill to 50 - 60% alcohol; re-distill to 90% ethanol (note: do not try this at home ) dilute to taste.
And remember stop before the fun stops

 

[Laurie Sanantone]

Here’s an article about an Orujo festival — November probably would not be my choice to walk a Camino, but the idea of attending this festival might convince me to change my plans

Fiesta Del Orujo | Festival in Potes (Cantabria)

This is an alcohol fuelled festival in the village of Potes in the Cantabrian mountains where villagers pay tribute to their locally produced liqueur.

www.spanish-fiestas.com

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Down here, it's usually their own Limoncello -- though there have been a few instances where it's been their 80%-90% alcohol or so eau de vie instead.

I loved the Limoncello in Italy and I'm a bit of a brandy fan as well. I enjoy sipping them in very small doses...so pleasant on the tongue.

 

[Mycroft]

I was introduced to Orujo de Hierbas by some cyclists on one of my Caminos. They strode into a bar and ordered Orujo in small glasses and rinsed them down in a hurry. What on earth was that stuff? Was it another kind of yellow arrow? Before they cycled on, they offered me a glass. I have been a fan of the drink ever since!

I miss walking in Spain. I miss the taste of Orujo. @ivar could you please have little ‘tourist’ bottles in your store?

View attachment 94564

Either I have been looking at the laptop too long, or you have figured out a way to make the drinks disappear! Tell me how--without my having to drink!!

 

[Mycroft]

after all my years spent in Spain and on the Camino, I have never heard of it!
I soooo need to go back

So say we all!

 

[Canche]

I was introduced to Orujo de Hierbas by some cyclists on one of my Caminos. They strode into a bar and ordered Orujo in small glasses and rinsed them down in a hurry. What on earth was that stuff? Was it another kind of yellow arrow? Before they cycled on, they offered me a glass. I have been a fan of the drink ever since!

I miss walking in Spain. I miss the taste of Orujo. @ivar could you please have little ‘tourist’ bottles in your store?

View attachment 94564

Good idea for Ivar

 

[erith long]

ORUJO, is an aftermeal drink, made mostly with herbs, to aid digestion,. is served in a very small glass. and you refer to it as a CHUPITO,
sometimes, depending who makes it, fruit is added. (rarely)

 

[Pelegrin]

ORUJO, is an aftermeal drink, made mostly with herbs, to aid digestion,. is served in a very small glass. and you refer to it as a CHUPITO,
sometimes, depending who makes it, fruit is added. (rarely)

In Galicia/Spain this is called Orujo de hierbas or simply hierbas that is yellow
In Galicia if you visit a house in the rural, with the black coffee they always offer some drops of white orujo and also in bars there is a bottle with a cane for the same purpose.
White orujo is a very addictive drink. I have known people in Galicia with serious problems of alcoholism.

 

[erith long]

In Galicia/Spain this is called Orujo de hierbas or simply hierbas that is yellow
In Galicia if you visit a house in the rural, with the black coffee they always offer some drops of white orujo and also in bars there is a bottle with a cane for the same purpose.
White orujo is a very addictive drink. I have known people in Galicia with serious problems of alcoholism.

I do not think it is bacause of the Orujo,

 

[Robo]

Still trying track down Orujo in Sydney with no luck.

Is this stuff close?

https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_911694/licor-43-spanish-liqueur-700ml

 

[SabsP]

Still trying track down Orujo in Sydney with no luck.

Is this stuff close?

https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_911694/licor-43-spanish-liqueur-700ml

Not very close imho.
Licor 43 is much sweeter than orujo and less high in alcoholpercentage.

Licor 43 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org