Description
The company J. Carranca Redondo, Lda, producer of Licor Beirão, was born in 1940, but the history of this liqueur goes back much further. Even without the nickname Beirão, the liqueur had already been manufactured in the town of Lousã, in a pharmacy, for over a century.
But the story goes like this: at the end of the 19th century, a Port wine traveling salesman, passing through Lousã, fell in love with a pharmacist's daughter, ending their relationship in marriage. In the pharmacy, in addition to the usual medicines, “natural liqueurs” were sold according to ancient formulas kept secret. Meanwhile, a law has come into force that prohibits the attribution of medicinal properties to alcoholic beverages. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the young man from the north carries out the autonomous production of nectars, using the same artisanal processes, in a small factory.
But the name of Licor Beirão does not appear by chance. In 1929, a Beirão Congress was held in Castelo Branco and the liqueur was named in honor of the meeting. It was the difficulties brought about by the Second World War that led to the factory being sold, in 1940, to a young man from Lousã, José Carranca Redondo, who worked there for some time. A little over twenty years old and now married, he decides to invest his savings in buying the house and the secret, dedicating himself body and soul to the liquor that began to be manufactured by his wife. Since then, sales have continued to grow, currently becoming a highly successful liqueur.
Currently, Licor Beirão is manufactured at Quinta do Meiral in Lousã (district of Coimbra, Portugal). With more than 12 hectares, part of the plants and aromatic seeds used in its manufacture are produced here, thus allowing greater quality control. The remaining ingredients are imported from places as far away as India, Sri Lanka, Brazil and Turkey, among others.