Beirão Tonic

A refreshing Portuguese highball showcasing Licor Beirão's aromatic herbs and spices lengthened with tonic and citrus.

Licor Beirão has been produced since the 19th century in Lousã, in the Coimbra district of central Portugal, originally as a pharmacist's stomach remedy. It earned its name in 1929, when the liqueur won a gold medal at the 2nd Beirão Congress and was named after the Beira region. In 1940, José Carranca Redondo acquired the factory and its secret recipe, and his company has produced Licor Beirão ever since, building it into consistently Portugal's best-selling domestic liqueur through its dual role as an after-dinner digestivo and an aperitif. The liqueur is made from a proprietary blend of aromatic seeds, spices, and plants whose specific formula the company has not fully disclosed, but whose flavor profile is characteristically described as a combination of cinnamon, eucalyptus, lavender, and dried citrus peel, producing a warming, spiced sweetness that is simultaneously aromatic and accessible. The Beirão Tonic emerged as a modern long-drink serve designed to showcase the liqueur's botanical complexity in a refreshing, aperitif-style format: Licor Beirão over ice with quality tonic water, garnished with a slice of orange, follows the same serve logic as the Porto Tonic — another Portuguese aperitif innovation — but with the inland, mountain-herb character of the Beira rather than the coastal grape-and-quinine notes of port.