This drink was made by Ibiza’s rural population more than 200 years ago. The process of elaboration was very rudimentary and each family had its own recipe, which consisted basically in the maceration of a handful of plants in the interior of a bottle or garafe of anise, so it was a drink for home consumption.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Century industrial manufacturers appear who collect and improve the recipe and processing of HIERBAS IBICENCAS. Thus references to it begin to appear in the press and gastronomic comments or publicity.
There are also literary references, such as in Vicente Blasco Ibañez’s work ‘Los muertos mandan’, in which the consumption of alcoholic drinks flavoured with aromatic plants, mainly growing wild, is decribed as an ancient custom of the island of Ibiza. Of course, there are constant references to Hierbas in tourist magazines and gastronomic guides to the Pityusas.
The distinctive flavour is a blend of the leaves, fruits and / or seeds of 18 plants, which at the very least are an excellent aid to digestion. Accompanying the herbs Rosemary and Thyme, are Juniper berries, Mountain Mint and of course Aniseed. The secret to producing Hierbas of consistently high quality is the special treatment of these ingredients, the extraction of only the purest of aromas from each of the plants. Only after each individual extract has been quality-controlled can the mixing process begin.