Aguardiente is an alcoholic beverage of 50% alcohol content by volume. It is made, like Italian grappa, by distilling the grape residue, primarily the skins and pulp (orujo) plus the stems (escobajos) and seeds, left over from winemaking after pressing the grapes. It is used to make several other flavored liquors like the murtado or enmurtillado (using sun dried murtilla, an orange-reddish wild rose fruit), the enguindado (soaking sun dried morello cherries) and licor de oro (flavored with saffron and lemon peel). Dried mint, peeled walnuts, almonds, and other aromatic herbs are also used to flavor the aguardiente. It is mainly consumed by itself, or as a base to make cola de mono ("monkey tail").
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