“Palo” of Mallorca
Palo de Mallorca is a spirit obtained by the maceration and/or infusion of cinchona bark and gentian root (gentina lutea) with sugar, caramelized sucrose and ethyl alcohol. Its name is derived from cinchona bark (also known as palo quina), which originally came from South America and became known in Spain thanks to the Countess of Chinchón. Cinchona bark contains various different substances like quinine, which gives it a bitter, astringent taste but has antipyretic and anti-malarial properties.
Palo is very dark (almost black), dense, thick and viscose. When swirled around the glass, a fine caramel-coloured layer sticks to the walls of it. Initially this layer is smooth and uniform, but it quickly forms well-defined thick trails as the alcohol evaporates. These remain there, even forming a paste. Palo is aromatic but not excessively so. Alcohol and caramel aromas predominate with a vague hint of wood, which some people associate with liquorice. The sensation, as it passes through the mouth, is complex due to a variety of simultaneous impressions. Initially it has a predominantly sweet taste that is immediately following by an alcohol burn, rounded off by combined bitter flavours from the plant extracts and caramelization of the sugar. Its flavour persists for a long time in the mouth, with the alcohol sensations disappearing first, followed by the sweetness, so that finally the bitter taste remains.
LINK
http://www.illesbalearsqualitat.es/ibqfront/producte?lang=uk&idPR=341