liqueurs

organic rocha pear liqueur

The organic rocha pear liqueur by aessencia is produced with rocha pears – also know as portuguese pears – a particular variety of pear that was discovered in Portugal on the 19th century and that is cultivated almost exclusively on the portuguese Oeste region.

These are remarkable for their sweet taste which imprints the liqueur with a sweet flavour that strongly distinguishes it from liqueurs made from other pears – a soft and sweet taste of rocha pears, spices and caramel.

As it is made with a fruit that is mostly produced in the Oeste region it is a product that is characteristic of this region, and that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. As such, it remind you of the summer on the portuguese countryside – of a time when the pears are ripe and ready to be picked. Read more >

organic apple liqueur

The organic apple liqueur by aessencia is produced with sweet apples, such as royal gala, gala must or galaxy. All of which produced on the portuguese Oeste region.

The use of sweet apples is what imparts the liqueur with the sweet flavour that characterizes it, it is also what distinguishes it from other apple liqueurs.

Comparing it with the rocha pear liqueur, the apple liqueur has a more traditional and familiar taste of apple and cinnamon.

The fruit from which it is made is not exclusive of this region, still it characterizes it. The acres of orchards, have been for hundreds of years, one of the main characteristics of the countryside around Alcobaça. The apples produced in this region are known for their sweet taste and crispness which makes them ideal for our liqueur.  Read more >

organic persimmon liqueur

The organic persimmon liqueur by aessencia is produced with persimmons cultivated on the portuguese Oeste region.

Contrarily to the rocha pears and apples, the persimmon is not a fruit that has been traditionally cultivated in Portugal. Still, it was brought to Europe, from Asia, and started to be cultivated in Portugal as well. The climate in Portugal revealed itself as being quite adequate for the cultivation of persimmons, and so we are now able to see persimmons grown all over the country.

From an exotic fruit, the persimmon is becoming more and more a fruit that is considered as indispensable for many Portuguese who simply cannot do without it. For them we have created this liqueur that entirely captures the flavour of the fruit. A must have for those who simply adore persimmons and are unable to wait until they become available once again. Read more >

about

The aessencia liqueurs are all made with fruit brandies produced in-house. We produce rocha pear, apple and persimmon brandies which are then used as the base of all of our liqueurs.

The production of the fruit brandies starts at the end of the Summer, as the fruit starts to get ripe and ready to be picked. As the summer draws to an end, and throughout the autumn, the fruit is then picked, selected, crushed and fermented.

During the fermentation stage the sugar content of the fruit becomes alcohol. As the fermentation draws to an end, and all of the sugar has already been converted to alcohol, the resulting dough is then distilled and re-distilled in order to extract the alcohol from it.

This process is done on a copper alembic, as is traditional, and has been done for hundreds of years on the Iberic peninsula.

And thus, we produce a spirit with the flavour of the fruit that gave origin to it  – an aguardente or eau-de-vie as it is also known. A distilled product characteristic of southern europe.

In order to make the liqueur, fruit is then selected and macerated on this previously made brandy, along with spices that complement the fruit flavour.

During this process, the alcohol of the brandy absorbs the essence of the fruit – colour and flavour – and acquires an even more intense fruity flavour.

After some time the mix is then filtered, and a syrup made out of organic cane sugar is then added to the filtered fruit brandy. This syrup is what will then sweeten the liqueur and give it its characteristic sweet flavour.

After the sugar has been added, the liqueur is then aged. During this stage the flavour of the liqueur changes, becoming softer and more developed. It is only after this that the liqueur is ready to be bottled.

As with most good wines, the liqueur will then continue to improve as it becomes older – the flavour of the brandy will become softer and the overall flavour will continue to improve.

conservation

All of the aessencia liqueurs are bound to become cloudy and eventually to create a deposit at the end of the bottle. This is perfectly natural and is due to the pulp of the fruit that is present on the liqueurs.

As a way to maximize the fruit flavour we have made a conscious decision of not filtering the liqueurs prior to bottling. We find that the filtering of liqueurs is mostly done for aesthetic reasons and that it will inevitably result in the stripping of the liqueur of most of its flavour.

The deposit at the end of the bottle will not impair the flavour of the liqueur in any way, quite on the contrary.