This Portuguese Island Is Home to a Rum Cocktail You Need to Try

Locally, the drink is mythologized as a cure-all.

Off the coast of northwestern Africa—forming the point of a triangle between Lisbon and Casablanca, Morocco—sits an idyllic string of four Portuguese islands collectively known as Madeira. The archipelago is home to the ancient Laurisilva Forest, natural swimming pools formed by volcanic lava, Europe's highest skywalk, and, poncha.

Poncha—a frothy refreshing rum cocktail backed by tart citrus and sweetened with sugar or honey—is a Madeiran staple and a rite of passage for visitors.

Locally, the drink is mythologized as a cure-all. “It can cure from a common cold to a broken heart,” Graça Lopes, a Madeiran who has been a tour guide for the past 35 years, tells TripSavvy. (Not to mention, it's nearly medicinal for those in need of a pick-me-up after a day spent visiting the island's attractions.)

Whatever may be ailing you, you'll find poncha is omnipresent on the islands, where it is revered as an "only-in-Madeira" specialty to be celebrated. “For Madeirans, poncha is more than a drink—it's a culture,” says Rosie Bayntun, who works with the Madeira Promotion Bureau. “In the past, it was for people to use as a boost for their long days working in the fields or being out at sea, but nowadays it's for people to gather together and keep the tradition going.”

As with many great drinks, poncha is deceptively simple. It was originally cobbled together by combining local rum with nutrient-rich citrus for the sailors coming to and from the island. “The origin goes all the way back to the era of the Portuguese discoveries, with the navigators preserving lemon and sugar in rum and using it to prevent scurvy as well as keep them warm on their voyages,” Lopes says. (Rum and citrus are paired across the Caribbean for similar reasons, as it was believed to ward off malaria.)

The most common version visitors will find is the traditional fisherman's poncha, which consists of unaged agricole rum, lemon juice, and sugar. The magic is in the method: After muddling lemon peel and sugar, the mixture is combined with freshly squeezed juice, mixed and strained into a pitcher, and then frothed up for serving with a caralhinho.

The next most popular variety is the regional poncha, which replaces sugar with honey, and adds fresh orange juice in tandem with lemon juice. Passionfruit and tangerine have emerged as other flavors, as well as fringier varieties such as mint or tamarillo.

Everyone on Madeira has strong opinions on the subject, of course. “There are only two real ponchas,” says Pedro Albuquerque, a guide with Bravelanders, a tour company. “The regional, that's the real one, and the fisherman's. Because they were poorer, it had the same ingredients but they changed the honey for sugar which is cheaper. All those new flavors are good, but they are not the real ones.”

Like any Madeiran discussing poncha, Albuquerque has a word of warning for anyone planning to try the local wares. “They are so strong, but you don't feel it because of the juice,” he says. Poncha is often mixed with about a 50:50 ratio of rum and juice, so they are potent elixirs that go down with alarming ease.

Where to Try Poncha in Madeira

There's no shortage of options for partaking in a poncha expedition. For a guided itinerary, a few recommended operators include Maderia Food on Foot, offering a range of wine and culinary-based tours; Offroad Experience, with a daylong island tour including poncha stops; and for the more active-inclined, there's perhaps no better refreshment after a day in the saddle with Cycling Madeira than a few rounds of poncha.

From dedicated bars to small stands and stops, there are scores of destinations to explore on your own as well. In Funchal, consider Poncha do Pescador or Venda Velha. And if you're passing through Serra de Água, you can embark on a quick little crawl that may turn into a stumble by the time you finish with three stops in short succession: Tasquinha da Poncha, Taberna da Poncha, and the Terrace Poncha Bar.

Or just head to the shop at Engenhos do Norte, the North Mills Distillery, in Porto da Cruz, and grab a bottled Poncha da Madeira under the J. Faria & Filhos brand. While the distillery makes a spectrum of well-aged agricole rums, its batched poncha is made with its unaged Branca rums as its base. It's party fuel, and it's offered in an assortment of flavors.

Stick it into your backpack and head out on a levada walk, following the designated trails alongside one of the island's many meandering aqueducts or irrigation channels through the hills. There might be nothing more Madeiran than combining those beloved pastimes—and it's the only place in the world where you can do it.

Read the original article on TripSavvy.