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<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Sugarcane Aguardente </strong></h3>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Sugarcane aguardente is a well-known drink from the island of Madeira, it is a type of firewater. It is a light-colored, almost transparent drink when produced relatively recently, or a darker color if it has been produced a long time ago. It is a drink resulting from the alcoholic fermentation of sugar cane juice. You are strongly advised to try this typical drink if you visit Madeira!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"> <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Madeira Sugarcane Aguardente " src="../../../../storage/uploads/tinymce/madeira sugarcane aguardente (3).jpg" alt="Madeira Sugarcane Aguardente " width="856" height="460" /></p>
<h4 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">The History of Sugarcane Aguardente</h4>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Aguardente was not originally created on the island of Madeira, but in Brazil. However, it has been part of our culture for many years. It was in the year 1649 that the term “aguardente” first appeared in Madeiran documentation. It was also in this year that the word "aguardenteiro" was associated with "the one who makes aguardente". However, its existence in the lives of Madeirans probably precedes this timeline. </p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Madeira started to be associated with aguardente by earning the nickname “island of aguardente”. We can find, since the 16th century, in Madeira's documentary heritage references to this type of firewater drink. It was also, in the first quarter of the 20th century, a topic of social and political debate, as a problem related to public health in the region.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">According to a survey carried out in 1888, concerning the economic situation of the island of Madeira, it is mentioned in the publication A Cana-de-Açúcar na Madeira (18th-20th centuries) that, for the manufacture of aguardente, a large amount of sugarcane was used from sugar produced on the island. However, in the mainland and adjacent islands, the establishment of alcohol and aguardente factories was prohibited, as well as the modification and expansion of those already existing by 1890, due to the excessive consumption of aguardente in the region. In 1911, a decree is published that expropriates the spirits factories, taking into account that the production of this drink reached around 1,200 thousand liters. </p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">The first “White” sugarcane aguardente (the origin of this name is due to its purity and clarity) appeared in the old Engenho de Machico in the 70s. After that, the production of aguardente began to be made in Porto da Cruz where Companhia de Engenhos do Norte was created. Here, steam engines manufactured in the 19th century by Luís Clode, their creator, were used.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">These machines are still in operation today, and you can enjoy a guided tour of the mills whilst getting a brief explanation of their procedure.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">In 2013, “J. Faria & Filhos, Lda. ” took possession of Engenho, always maintaining its image and production faithfully and this is now a benchmark, having won a Gold medal in 2016, the year in which the company received 3,200 tons of sugarcane solely for the production of this drink.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">This drink was very important for making the traditional Madeiran Poncha.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"> <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Madeira Sugarcane Aguardente " src="../../../../storage/uploads/tinymce/madeira sugarcane aguardente (1)_1.jpg" alt="Madeira Sugarcane Aguardente " width="856" height="460" /></p>
<h5 dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;">How to Make Sugarcane Aguardente:</h5>
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<li dir="ltr">After the sugarcane has been harvested, it has to be ground so that the bagasse is separated from the sugarcane juice (liquid extracted from the sugar cane in the milling process).</li>
<li dir="ltr">After extraction, the broth is filtered through a sieve and decanted, leaving the “bagacilho” behind.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Water is added to the cane juice to reduce the brix.</li>
<li dir="ltr">After that, comes the part of the fermentation that lasts between 14 to 24 hours.</li>
<li dir="ltr">For the fermentation, chemicals such as ammonium sulfate and antibiotics are used. The ideal temperature during fermentation varies between 28ºC to 32ºC.</li>
<li dir="ltr">The next step is distillation, where stills of different shapes and sizes are used in order to distill the sugarcane wine, this is done with stainless steel columns or with copper stills.</li>
<li dir="ltr">During the distillation in an artisanal still, the “head” (the first liquid that appears in the distillation of fermented sugar cane, which has a high concentration of methanol: alcohol extremely toxic to the human body) is separated from the “heart” (volume corresponding to up to 16% of the total wine volume, or approximately 80% of the total distillate, equivalent to the central part of the distillation process) and the “broth” (liquid present in the final distillation process, corresponds to approximately 3.0% of the total wine volume - important to remove because it has a bitter taste and an intense odor). The “head” and “broth” are discarded, only the “heart” is bottled.</li>
<li dir="ltr">After following all these steps, you must store the aguardente in stainless steel vats before it is bottled or in wooden barrels.</li>
<li dir="ltr">The last step is to bottle it, but before that it has to be diluted and standardized.</li>
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<li dir="ltr">For it to be called aguardente, its alcohol content must be between 38º to 48º.</li>
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