Guayabita Liquor Festival in Pinar del Rio

Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Jan 17. -Farmers and fans of Guayabita del Pinar liquor will mark the successful end of the harvest with a toast at a January 21st Festival to fete the refinement of the drink produced with this fruit exclusive of Pinar del Rio, in western Cuba. Some 30 farmers whose dexterity contribute to do credit to the singular drink collect the fruit in the mountains, from where they are taken to a unique one hundred year old distillery.

Viñales, a World Cultural Landscape Heritage, will host the toast animated with controversias (friendly argument among poets with music bands or guitars) and the typical rural dances known as guateques or fiestas campesinas to honor the most productive farmers.

The world-famed beverage marched hand-in-hand with tobacco plantations (vegas – in Spanish) from the wake of the 16th Century of the then Vuelta Abajo, where the guajiros used to sift something to help them remain warm amid the cold winter mornings.

Arrival of Lucio Garay from Vizcaya, Spain, led to found in 1892 a factory to produce the liquor that families still treasure to offer their illustrious visitors.

Savvy field re-population and care under the fine local climate rendered in 2011 abundant harvests of the tiny Psidium salutare -christened guayabita- that used to grow wild, the experts told Prensa Latina. This almost accidental discovery of the sugar-added alcohol distil brings a refined gift to the palate, past some time of aging in cedar barrels.

Distillery Head Director Angel Suarez said the top goal for the local experts is expanding the population of Psidium salutare with the aid of biotechnology, among other techniques, to help the seasoned sweet and dry brands of Guayabita del Pinar expand their markets, winning over more fans. (Prensa Latina)