Crafted by hand, made with love

On today’s episode of Our Portuguese Table, we chat with Alexander Dias, Founder of Ginja9, a brand of ginjinha designed for the US market. Ginja or ginjinha is a liqueur made with ginja berries (or sour cherries – Morello cherries). It’s commonly found in Lisbon and Óbidos.  Have you tried ginjinha?​​ Alexander was born in Fall River, MA but grew up in Portugal. His dad used to joke that he was made in Portugal, born in the US and his brother was made in the US and born in Portugal. He moved back to the States after visiting his brother, a video editor in LA, a few times. While working as a banker, Alexander noticed all his friends and colleagues asking about where they could find ginjinha after coming back from having tried it in Portugal, but ginjinha was hard to find in the States. Ginja9 officially launched in January of this year. The number 9 symbolizes peace and love, which is reflected in the G9 slogan, “Crafted by hand, made with love.”  The signature G9 cocktail is the G9 Mojito. Here's the recipe: https://youtu.be/d3P_y5PqVAU ​We also chatted about how trendy Portugal has been in the travel world over the last few years. Alexander tries to visit Portugal once a year and enjoy his favorites – bitoque (Portuguese-style steak), arroz de polvo (octopus rice), and camarão de alho (garlic shrimp).  Wanna try Ginja9? They’ll be at San Diego’s Latin Food Fest (August 18th & 19th): https://latinfoodfest.com They will also be at the PALCUS Gala in New York as the featured cocktail and also being used for a toast! For more info on Ginja9: Website – http://www.ginja9.com/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ginja9lovers Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ginja9/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/Ginja_Nine  We’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions! Send us a message at [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.  Até a próxima!