Ratafia, the sweet green walnut liqueur finds a new public

Barcelona (Gastroteca.cat).- Ratafia is typical Catalan sweet liqueur made from green walnuts, nutmeg and different aromatic plants: mint, lemon verbena, thyme, basil, lavender, etc. In fact, Ratafia is an heir of the tradition of making alcoholic liqueurs out of different herbs. The mixture of water, alcohol, nuts and the aromatic plants is left to macerate for at least 40 days. Then, more sugar, water and alcohol are added. The resulting liquor is left to age in wooden wine casks for three months. The final drink is sweet and intense, with a caramel colour and an alcohol content of 26-29%. Normally, it is drunk after eating, as a digestive liqueur, but it can also be consumed with ice.

In Garrotxa County (between Girona and the Pyrenees), Ratafia is almost seen as a “national drink”. It started as a homemade liqueur but has reached commercial production. It has been recognised with a Geographical Guarantee of Origin. Ratafia can be served year round, but winter best time for the tasty liqueur. Moreover, it is the time when the majority of fairs take place. Among its consumers, it now has younger drinkers, as the liqueur has increased in value.

Santa Coloma de Farners, next to Catalonia’s central mountain area of Montseny, has been hosting the Ratafia Contest-Festival for almost 30 years now. This celebration has a similar history to that of the Champions League: it was born from a private impulse, and it was not until a few editions later that the public administration took charge of it. In the case of Santa Coloma de Farners, people who felt devotion to Ratafia started the journey that now has a national impact, thanks to the City Hall. Visitors and producers from all over the country come to the fair.

Ratafia producers are both professionals from big companies and brands and enthusiasts: there is an open contest to anyone who makes Ratafia and wants experts to taste it and judge it. In this year’s program, which takes place this weekend, there will be conferences and new products such as Ratafia infusion, which is prepared like a tea.

The other event involving Ratafia is the Besalú Fair, which will take place on the 5th of December. There will be famous brands and a contest centred on local producers. The winning Ratafia will be bottled and sold in the following edition of the fair. That means that, in a few days, the Ratafia variety that won last year, made by Cesca Sarola from Besalú, will be commercialised. The main facility of the fair will be the Plaça de la Llibertat, where there will also be music by a cobla, a traditional Catalan music ensemble that usually accompanies the Sardana, the traditional Catalan folk dance that is danced in a circle. There will also be a group called Sol i Serena, which is a very appropriate name for the occasion (Sol means “sun”, and Ratafia must macerate for 40 consecutive days in the sun, and Serena means that it must macerate by day and also by night). Not very far from this there will be a parallel craft market.

Most of the people of the sector are optimistic. Faustí Bosch, from Destil·leries Bosch in Sant Quirze de Besora, assures that “a new, young public is starting to take an interest in Ratafia, as they have interest for everything that is ours. They have discovered Ratafia and they drink it because they like it and because it is a Catalan product. We are going through difficult times, because of the economic situation, but we can’t complain”. Xavier Codina, from the Ratafia Russet in Olot, is also hopeful: “It’s not going that bad for us. We’ve got a new public, which is key. For instance, it is very useful that tourists buy Ratafia from a particular place as a souvenir complement. But the distribution in shops has also grown, as well as in restaurants and even in supermarkets, which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.”

The increase in sales has also increased the field of action for Ratafia; and there are cases where some Ratafia varieties clash and have a direct competence. That is, if we go to the Raiers Fair (a fair about the “raiers”, who decent river rapids on rafts), in la Pobla de Segur (in the Pyrenees), we can buy the Raiers Ratafia. And if we pay a visit to the famous forest la Fageda d’en Jordà, which is beautiful this time of year, we can buy the Russec Ratafia. However, if we find ourselves between the Pallars county and la Selva County, we may find both Ratafias in a single shop. And this is as good as Ratafia itself.

We must not forget, though, that Ratafia has an alcohol content of at least 25%. And, as both in Besalú and in Santa Coloma de Farners, visitors tend to taste a few Ratafias. It would be advisable not to get in the car right away to discover or rediscover the many attractions that both places offer.