Ratafia Festival

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Held on the second weekend of November in Santa Coloma de Farners, the Ratafia Festival celebrates the long tradition of home-made ratafia. For four days the town celebrates with live music, talks, cooking workshops, guided tours, traditional dances, a correfoc, children's activities, ratafia tastings, a "ratafiàrium" featuring products made with ratafia, a ratafia contest and, of course, a market where you can stock up on ratafia and other local artisanal goods.

The Ratafia Festival is one of the most anticipated dates for locals, and attracts visitors from neighboring regions. The wide range of cultural activities make the festival a place of culture, discovery and learning.

What Is Ratafia?

Rarafia is a sweet liqueur is made by macerating a variety of natural ingredients from the area—fruits, herbs, roots, nuts and spices—in aguardente (a distilled alcoholic spirit that contains between 29% and 60% alcohol). It is mostly made at home, and many families keep their secret recipes closely guarded. But, there are a few manufacturers that make it for consumers who haven't the patience to desire to make it themselves. The three most well-known producers have more  than 100 years of experience: Russet, Bosch and Raiers.

Born in Italy, the first mention of ratafia dates from 1600 in the Piedmont region. In Catalunya, the oldest recorded formula is from 1842 in—you guessed it—Santa Coloma de Farners.

For more about ratafia, check out our article Ratafia: Catalunya's Sweet Herbal Liqueur.

For more events check our online events calendar.