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I
f you’re headed to Colombia for
the first time, and you go out to a bar
or nightclub, the first thing that will
probably strike you is the ubiquitous
aguardiente. It means something
akin to fire water in Spanish, and it is the
national Colombian alcoholic beverage.
Aguardiente is an anise-flavoured liqueur de-
rived from sugar cane, popular in the Andean
region. Each department of Colombia holds
the rights to produce it, but aguardiente
produced in one region can be sold in another.
By adding different amounts of aniseed, different
flavours are obtained, leading to extensive mar-
keting and fierce competition between brands.
Aguardiente has a 29% alcohol content. Other
anise-flavoured liqueurs similar to aguar-
diente but with a lower alcohol content are
also sold. Aguardiente has maintained, since
the Spanish era, the status of the most popular
alcoholic beverage in the andean regions of
Colombia with the notable exception of the
Caribbean Region in which the Rum
is king. Colombians in the andean
regions drink it straight as individual
shots and they rarely use it in cock-
tails.
You’ll find it everywhere, from the trashi-
est dive bars, to the most expensive bars
and nightclubs in Bogota and Medellin.
Aguardiente has between 24% and
29% alcohol, and is typically drunk
neat, and served
chilled, with
lime wedges and some salty snacks. Colombi-
an aguardiente is called guaro in the vernacu-
lar, and has a distinctive anise flavoring (which
is also the flavoring of licorice). It’s a bit of an
adjustment in the beginning, but some foreign-
ers may be familiar with the concept because
it bears some resemblance to ouzo, a Greek
anise-flavored liqueur.
Guaro is quite pervasive in the Andean region
of Colombia, and makes a good complement
to cold Colombian beer. The most popular
brands nationwide are Nectar from Bogota,
Aguardiente Antioqueno from Medellin, and
Blanco del Valle in Cali. However, many other
Colombian cities also make their own dis-
tinctive guaro, including Tunja, Villavicencio,
Manizales, Popayan, Ibague, Neiva (Huila),
and Quibdo (capital of Choco).
If you’re diving into aguardiente for the first
time, a word to the wise: drink the aguardiente
sin azucar (without sugar) and your body will
thank you for it the next day. Aguardi-
ente with sugar has
been known
to render
unsus-
pecting
foreigners
horrific
hangovers.