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Ultimate Property Javea love to make use of the Valencian oranges that grow here in abundance and so why not enjoy 1 of your 5 a day in a cocktail - Agua de Valencia.
Agua de Valencia is a Spanish cocktail that has an interesting history. The basic ingredients of the drink are cava (or Champagne), orange juice, vodka and gin. Normally, the cocktail is served in a large jug and shared between a group of friends or family, and is then drunk from cocktail glasses.
According to popular history, the drink was first made in 1959 by Constante Gil in the Café Madrid in Valencia. It is said that a group of Basque travellers who used to visit Valencia would ask for 'Agua de Bilbao', referring to the best sparkling wine of the house. Fed up of asking for the same thing, the travellers then decided to ask the owner of the bar to offer them something new. The owner, Constante Gil, therefore proposed they drank 'Agua de Valencia', as a kind of joke. To his surprise though, the Basques accepted and so he had to make up a cocktail in that moment. Fortunately however, it turned out to be very successful and the Basque travellers always asked for the cocktail every time they returned to the city.
For the first decade after the creation of this Spanish cocktail, the drink was only known by a small group of people and it wasn't until the 1970s when it became known throughout the Valencian night scene. From then on though, the drink has become very popular and we certainly enjoying drinking it all year round. If you would like to make your own at home we have included a recipe for you or better still when out in Javea or Moraira you will always find it on a cocktail menu in the numerous bars.
Recipe: Fresh orange juice, cava, gin, vodka or maybe use cointreau, ice and slices of orange.
