Poncha

Poncha is made from aguardente de cana, the spirit distilled from Madeiran sugarcane, with honey and citrus juice - lemon for the traditional poncha pescador, the fishermen's version, or orange, tangerine, passion fruit and others for the variants that bars now make. The ingredients are worked together in the glass or jug with a mexelote, a wooden stirrer with a grooved knob on the end that is universally called a caralhinho, which is a crude diminutive and which everyone uses without embarrassment. It was a fishermen's drink on the south coast, taken as a remedy for colds and before going out to sea, and Câmara de Lobos claims it. It is sweet, tastes deceptively mild, and is around twenty per cent or more depending on who is pouring. Bars along the Serra de Água road and in Câmara de Lobos are where it is most seriously made.

What to look for

• The stirrer - the grooved wooden mexelote, known by a name nobody softens.
• The ingredients - sugarcane spirit, honey and citrus, worked in the glass.
• The pescador - the original lemon version, taken by fishermen as a remedy.
• The bars - Câmara de Lobos and the Serra de Água road as the traditional places.

When to go

Year-round. A drink, in the evening or after a walk. Bars in Câmara de Lobos and along the mountain roads serve it all day.

Things to know

Sweet and easy to drink at around twenty per cent or more - two is usually enough. Strength varies wildly between bars and is not measured. The fruit variants sold to visitors are further from the original than the lemon one. Do not drink and then drive Madeira's roads.

Nearby

Câmara de Lobos is the traditional home; Serra de Água is on the mountain road.