Queimada

Queimada is an alcoholic beverage of Galician tradition.

Queimada has origins in the Pagan festivals of Galicia. It is a punch made from Galician aguardiente (Orujo Gallego) - a spirit distilled from wine and flavoured with herbs or coffee, plus sugar, lemon peel, coffee beans and cinnamon.

Traditionally while preparing the punch a spell or incantation is recited, so that special powers are conferred to the queimada and those drinking it. Then the queimada is set alight, and slowly burns as more brandy is added.

Alonso del Real mentions the origins of queimada. Mention of queimada is found in Celtic, Roman, Visigothic, and Arabic literature. There is also evidence of the queimada tradition in the eleventh or twelfth century, around the time of the construction of Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

Tradition

The finality of the preparation ritual is to distance the bad spirits that, according with the tradition, lie in wait for men and women to try to curse them. All occasions are good for a queimada: a party, familiar meetings or gatherings of friends. After dinner, in the darkness of night (one of the best times for it), the people who take part in it gather around the container where it is prepared, ideally without lights, to cheer up the hearts and to be better friends. One of them ends the process of making the queimada while reciting the spell holding up the burning liquid in a ladle and pouring it slowly back into the container.

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