Natural form

Clear aguardiente in a traditional small glass, showing the spirit's transparency and body.

Shows the spirit's defining visual character — colorless clarity — that distinguishes it from aged brown spirits.

Beverages

Aguardiente

Fiery grape-pomace spirit for sipping and digestifs

A potent, clear spirit distilled from grape pomace, aguardiente or orujo sips as a fiery digestif and laces a coffee. Strong and warming. Keep it at room temperature.

Aguardiente — literally 'fiery water' — is a broad family of clear, high-proof spirits found across Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, distilled from whatever local base is abundant: sugarcane, grape pomace, or grain. The most famous styles are anise-flavored (popular in Colombia, Spain, and Portugal), tasting of liquorice and warmth, while others are neutral cane spirits. In cooking, the anise versions perfume desserts, fruit, and shellfish with a sweet-spicy liquorice note, while neutral aguardiente flambés and macerates like a rustic white spirit.

Measured in: ml
Storage: Room Temperature

Find it in

Beverages

Types & varieties

Anisado

Anise-flavored, sweet liquorice

De caña

Neutral sugarcane spirit

Bagaceira/orujo

Grape-pomace style, grappa-like

How to use in cooking

Anise-style aguardiente adds a sweet liquorice perfume — splash it into fruit compotes, custards, or a shellfish sauté (it's lovely with prawns and mussels). Neutral cane aguardiente flambés cleanly and macerates fruit. Because proofs vary wildly, taste first and use the high-proof ones sparingly. Flame or simmer to burn off the sharp alcohol.

How to choose

Know your bottle: an anise aguardiente (e.g. Colombian or Iberian aguardente) behaves like a liquorice liqueur, while a cane aguardiente is closer to white rum. Check the ABV — some are gentle and sweetened, others are fierce overproof.

Common uses

Flambé fruit or seafoodMacerate fruit for compotesPerfume custards with aniseSauté prawns and musselsDeglaze for a liquorice-scented sauceSpike a citrus dessert