Patxaran

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Patxaran

Since ancient times, spirit raising potions have blended medicinal properties with the unknown. More than a few witches have been accused of imbibing in these herb-based brews before taking part in their "akelarres", or witches’ sabbaths. What has become the "official" liqueur of the Basque Country, "patxaran", is also the product of this type of distillation process.

Patxaran has become such a popular liqueur because it is easy to make and people in the Basque Country usually make it at home. To make patxaran you must soak 250 gr. of wild ripe sloes into a liter of sweet anisette for seven or eight months in a fresh and dark place.

After this time, the liquid is filtered, if possible with a sieve and bottled. The patxaran, unlike some other liqueurs, does not get tastier as the time passes, so it must be drunk the later a year after it is made.

The word Patxaran was first used to name this liqueur in the late nineties of the XIX century but the liqueur was already known a long time ago. It is known that the patxaran was served in the wedding of D. Gonofre de Navarra (1394 - 1428), son of the King Carlos III of Navarre, and Doña Teresa de Arellano.

It is also known that the Queen Blanca of Navarre (1385 - 1441) drank patxaran as a cure when she was taken ill to the monastery of Santa Maria de Nieva in 1441.