The Aquardente de Medronhos is a strong spirit, a traditional fruit brandy from Portugal, obtained from the fruit of the Medronho tree, Arbutus unedo, also called strawberry tree. Medronho trees grow wild on the poor soils in rural regions of Portugal such as Alentejo and the inner Algarve.
There is no commercial plantation of the trees and the fruits are mainly collected by local farmers, by hand and processed privately. Therefore, good Aquardente de Medronhos can’t be bought in supermarkets but directly from these farmers. Very few farmers have a license for distillation, but are tolerated by the authorities to keep alive this traditional Portuguese speciality.
Aquardente de Medronhos is very popular with ordinary people, such as farmers and fishermen, and often drunk for breakfast to wake the spirits. When sweetened with honey it is called Brandymel.[1]