January Harvest is Mirto: The Digestive Liquor of Sardinia

I am constantly amazed at the connection Italy and it’s people have for the nature around them. They can identify the plants that grow in the woods around their homes and in their yards. They know what each plant is used for and relish using plants that grow naturally.

On a sunny January afternoon a friend in her 20’s was passing by a bush that lines my driveway and grabbing a branch she sniffed a leaf and exclaimed “This is a Mirto Bush! You can make liquor from the berries and they use the leaves when grilling meat!”

Wow! I have passed by that bush a million times and never gave it a sideways glance. I didn’t know it held so many secrets! So I cautiously picked a little purple berry and took a bite, it was bitter but did have a slight blueberry taste. In fact I could see how it would be good in a liquor because it also held the flavors of juniper berries and reminded me of the herbal flavor of a good gin. But what really impressed me, was how did a 20 year old know about this bush and what it was used for? Italians just have a connection to the land and it must be passed down to the new generations. Something I think our American culture lost long ago, possibly traded in for a Twinkie. 

So I started walking around my yard looking closely at all of my bushes and I was surprised to see my yards were hedged in this bush! Fortunate for me, my “20 something” friend raised my awareness in the nick of time, because January is the month for harvesting Mirto berries and mine were plump and ready for harvest. So I set about picking the tiny berries and collecting them in a jar until I had enough to make my liquor. 

This mysterious bush they were calling “Mirto” is actually a Myrtle bush, I think we have them in California as well. Not to be confused with a Crepe Myrtle, this is a completely different bush. The Myrtle is native to Sardinia, the Island off the coast of Italy and Corsica, the French Island right above it. Here is the home of Mirto, the liquor that is used as a digestive after a meal. Every restaurant and Agritourismo will have a bottle tucked away and happily offer it to their guests. 

To make Mirto, all you need is a Myrtle bush, sugar, vodka and time. So take a look around you and see if you can’t spot a Myrtle bush with its tiny purple berries ready for harvest in January.

Making Mirto Liquor

Ingredients :

• 4 cups Mirto (Myrtle) berries
• 1 liter vodka
• 4 cups water
• 3 cups sugar

Directions:

• In a large jar place the rinsed Myrtle berries, pour the vodka over the berries and allow to rest in a cool dark place for 40 days.
• combine water and sugar, melt over medium heat until all the sugar is melted, remove from heat and allow to cool.
• strain the Myrtle berries from the vodka.
• combine the simple syrup with the infused vodka
• store in a cool dark place for a month