Queimada (drink)

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title: "Queimada (drink)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["spanish-distilled-drinks", "galician-mythology", "galician-cuisine", "halloween-food", "witchcraft-in-spain", "flaming-drinks"] description: "Galician distilled drink, alcoholic beverage" topic_path: "geography/spain" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queimada_(drink)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Galician distilled drink, alcoholic beverage ::

Queimada is an alcoholic beverage of Galician tradition. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Queimada.jpg" caption="Queimada in preparation process."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Queimada_Conjuro.jpg" caption="Spell."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Queimada_fuego.jpg" caption="Queimada's characteristic blue fire."] ::

Queimada is a punch made from Galician aguardente (orujo from Galicia)--a spirit distilled from the byproducts of winemaking—and made with sugar, lemon or orange peel, and coffee beans. Variations of queimada may include cinnamon or apples. It is traditionally prepared in a hollowed-out pumpkin or a ceramic or clay pot.

Typically, while preparing the punch a spell or incantation is recited, so that special powers are conferred to the queimada and those drinking it. Then the queimada is set alight, and slowly burns as more brandy is added.

Origins

Queimada has origins in the Celtic pagan festivals of Galicia. Other aspects of Spain's history that influence the drink include the Arabs and Moors, and the Spanish colonies in South America.

Tradition

The goal of the preparation ritual is to distance the bad spirits that, according with the tradition, lie in wait for men and women to try to curse them. All occasions are good for a queimada: a party, familiar meetings or gatherings of friends. After dinner, in the darkness of night, is one of the best times for it. The queimada ritual takes place during Saint John's Eve, called "witches' night", on June 23.

The participants gather around the container, ideally in darkness, to lift their spirits and become better friends. One of them ends the process of making the queimada while reciting the spell, holding up the burning liquid in a ladle and pouring it slowly back into the container.

Spell

Source:

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In Galician language	In English
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References

References

1. Knelly, Clarice. (2023-06-24). "Queimada, The Traditional Galician Drink That's Set On Fire".
2. Casas, Penelope. (2014). "1,000 Spanish Recipes". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
3. (March 21, 2017). "DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Northern Spain". DK Publishing.
4. Griffiths, Chris. "Galicia's mythic drink of blue fire".
5. Jennifer. (2021-10-17). "Queimada, typical Galician drink".
6. "Set This Punch Aflame to Ward Off Evil Spirits".
7. (2021). "Gastro obscura: a food adventurer's guide". Workman Publishing.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::