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Ginjinha

Name: Ginjinha
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Portugal
Ingredients: 300g Sour Cherries (frozen OK); 500ml Aguardiente (or another spirit); 150g Sugar; 1 Cinnamon stick; To taste Cherries (to serve)

Dessert

⏱ 20 min

👥 Serves 4

Difficulty ⭐

Sour cherries steeped in aguardente — a sweet liqueur loved at Lisbon's stand-up bars.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Ginjinha is a sweet liqueur made by steeping Portugal's sour cherries (ginja) in aguardente brandy with sugar and cinnamon. It's famously served by the glass at tiny stand-up bars in Lisbon's old town. Classically poured into a small shot glass with one or two of the steeped cherries at the bottom, it's an afternoon tipple loved by tourists and locals alike.

🌆 Where it's eaten: In front of a narrow stand-up bar in Lisbon, tourists and locals stand shoulder to shoulder knocking back ginjinha.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 4)

Sour Cherries (frozen OK) 300g
Aguardiente (or another spirit) 500ml
Sugar 150g
Cinnamon stick 1
Cherries (to serve) To taste

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Wash and drain the sour cherries (pits can stay in).
Put the cherries, aguardente, sugar, and cinnamon stick in a jar.
Seal and steep in a cool, dark place for at least 1 month, ideally 2–3 months.
Shake the jar occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
Strain into shot glasses and drop 1–2 cherries into each.

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