I was once told you never really know the city you live in until you start seeing it as a tourist. My guess is that they were probably right, as I’ve been living in the city of the seven hills for three-and-a-half years now and had never actually been to the places I am about to describe. My epiphany came to me on a Thursday: I was wandering around Lisbon’s centre as I frequently do and I came across a street I had never noticed before. For some reason I felt drawn to it, it was acting like a magnet, ready to unveil its hidden secrets. This is how I first came across the old establishments that serve the ginjinha.

Ginjinha Espinheira

After you’ve walked down Avenida da Liberdade, past Praça dos Restauradores, and make it into Lisbon‘s central square of Rossio, its two large fountains, the cafés and restaurants lining the pavements and its overall ambience seem the perfect setting for an afternoon of shopping and sightseeing. In Rossio head left as you enter the square, along the National Theatre, and keep on going until you come to the adjoining Largo de São Domingos. You’ll find a tiny age-old watering hole at number 8, with a sign above the entrance that says: A Ginjinha.

The day was nice and balmy and several people were gathered outside, lost in pleasant conversation. They wore shorts, tank tops, dresses, flip flops and sunglasses. Their voices sounded loud and excited. Each of them was holding a small glass filled with a reddish-brown liquid they seemed to be enjoying with relish: this was the famous ginjinha.

Nowadays a must for all those who come in search of the real Lisbon experience, Ginjinha is a traditional liqueur made in the region of Estremadura, just north of the city, obtained through the maceration of the Morello (or sour) cherry, which was originally created by Francisco Espinheira, a friar from northern Spain. “A certain Galician made an experiment with brandy, sour cherries and sugar and it worked and still does so today”, says José Paiva, one of A Ginjinha’s oldest employees. Having been classified as national heritage, the tiny hole-in-the-wall establishment is one of a few traditional places in the city that serve exclusively the popular liqueur.

Over 170 years old, A Ginjinha remains in the hands of the original family, now in its fifth generation. If you walk inside you will understand why. The high-ceilinged entrance flanked by old wooden-frame glass display cabinets with several bottles of ginginha, gives it a rustic look. Small as it is, the place is always crowded, while dozens of bottles and two huge casks serve as decoration. There are no chairs or a place for you to sit down. The idea is for you to walk in, get your drink and walk out again. Hence the usual crowds outside. On the metal counter you’ll see the two large glass bottles from where the drink is poured. Apart from ginjinha, they serve nothing else.

Students, regular customers, tourists, you’ll come across people from all walks of life here and the ritual of buying a ginjinha is very simple: you either have it with or without the cherry. “The majority of tourists ask for a ginjinha “with them” and the Portuguese like a ginjinha both “with or without them”, José Paiva says. Costumers are always asked when buying a glass of the liqueur.

Older men drink it as a shot, all at once and with no regrets, while other people sip it quietly very much like a sherry or a port. In the end you can be sure your hands will be all sticky, since it’s made of fruit and sugar giving it a gluey texture.

A Ginjinha is mentioned in many tourist guides, and has become something of a must-do for tourists, but it still caters to plenty of locals, giving it that genuine edge. I spoke to Nalú and Celso Nael, two Brazilian tourists whom I met there. “A Portuguese friend of mine recommended coming here to try out a ginjinha as it was excellent, and now I’m here confirming it is really good”, Celso tells me, adding that “the place is special”.

Ginginha Espinheira produces its own ginginha liqueur unlike the majority of other places. Open to the public since 1840, the caramel sugar they add to the liqueur is what makes the difference. “The caramel sugar gives it the brownish colour and the cinnamon taste people talk about”, says José Paiva, adding that the shop has regular customers who can drop by some 5 times a day, at the very least. As for tourists, they come from every corner of the world and usually buy a bottle of ginjinha to take back to their family and friends.

Ginjinha Rubi

There are quite a few establishments that serve the sweet liquor around Lisbon but only a handful are acknowledged as being the spots to taste a ginjinha. Ginjinha Rubi makes the list. In a more secluded place only 50 metres away from A Ginjinha (in Rua Barros Queirós, 27), this shop is a slightly bigger and displays three large-scale azulejo panels which allude to the harvest and preparation of the fruit. In blue and white the panels give a traditional feel to the place.

Founded in 1931, Ginjinha Rubi doesn’t have as many costumers. People walk in and out of the place at a slower pace and do not always order ginjinha, as they serve other drinks. However, “the liqueur is the most served and the most requested” says Vítor Resende, who works at the Ginjinha Rubi.

“Ginjinha is traditionally Portuguese, from Lisbon, and the fruit usually comes from Óbidos, a place where it is traditionally grown”, Vítor Resende tells me, and “being typically ours, there is nothing like it in any other part of the world. It’s genuinely Portuguese”, he defends.

With its own production unit in Anjos, a district in Lisbon, Ginjinha Rubi is one of the few places that carries on making its own variety of the liqueur, selling it not only at their establishment in Rossio but also to other places as well.

Maintaining the fixed price of €1.10 per glass, ginjinha is not the only drink they serve: capilé (a drink made of maidenhair fern sirup), gooseberry sirup drinks and the Eduardino, a classic liqueur served in this type of establishment, are also famous.

If you want to convince anyone to try out a ginjinha, just follow the owner’s advice: “If you try it, you will enjoy it, I am absolutely sure”, highlighting that “it’s a good product and everything that is good doesn’t need much advertising because it sells itself”.

Especially popular in Lisbon, Óbidos, Alcobaça and the Algarve, ginjinha is now exported to countries like the United States. The annual production has reached 34,053 gallons of liqueur a year, which shows that the sweet beverage is still very popular among the Portuguese. It’s interesting to see how something that started out as an experiment carried out by a friar in the 18th century has become such a popular drink and has remained a cherished tradition until today.

Ginginha is an integral part of Portuguese history. If you’re in Lisbon, you should definitely include a visit to these two places and experience for yourself. You will then understand the aura surrounding this old tradition. The good thing about a ginjinha is the fact that you can have it any time of the day: you can have one after your meal, as a digestive, or simply whenever you feel like. If you make a trip to Óbidos, make sure you try a ginjinha in the chocolate cups they traditionally serve it in there. I guarantee you it is simply divine.