The Distilleries of the Sierra Norte of Seville
Cazalla de la Sierra gives its name to an amazing liqueur, Cazalla, which is still produced by hand in a number of mountain towns and is very popular throughout Spain. In neighbouring Constantina you can visit the factory and museum of a brand denominated La Violetera, with its ancient still, and in Cazalla the installations where the brands El Clavel and Miura are produced, the latter in what used to be a convent.
In the first half of the 20th century, Cazalla became world famous for its eaux de vie, which were also produced in Constantina and Guadalcanal. It was then, between the 19th and 20th centuries, that many commercial companies were established to manufacture and sell eaux de vie from the region. Throughout history there have been 67 factories in Cazalla, brands such as Anís Kruger, Machaquito, Anís Cazalla, Torre del Oro, Triunfante, Giralda, Clavel and Miura, although only a few of them remain today.
Apart from enjoying it in bars and taverns in this beautiful mountain town, you can visit the Cazalla Aguardiente Centre, a building that acts as a museum telling the history of the town based on the past, present and future of renowned wines and spirits. There are panels, objects and multimedia devices to teach visitors all about this dry, transparent liqueur, distilled from anise.
Nowadays, in Cazalla there are two distilleries that produce these anise-based drinks, Anís El Clavel and Anís Miura, which offer a wide range of liqueurs and have as their main reference a cherry-based liqueur called "crema de guindas". Constantina was at its peak in the 1940s, when there were 18 anise factories, 5 cellars exporting wines and two alcohol factories. Today the La Violetera distillery is still in operation. It was opened in the 1960s, and organises a comprehensive, interesting tyour of its installations.
There has been a recent recovery in the production of wines in the Sierra Norte, a tradition that goes back centuries and for a time was lost. These vines have such historical roots that it is said they were used as the rootstock for the first vines cultivated in America.
