Myrtle Plant and Mirto - tracing the origins of the traditional Sardinian Digestivo

Interviewed by the weekly Oggi on set while filming the TV series Catch 22 in Sardinia, the actor George Clooney joked, “I love mirto. I discovered it 20 years ago, but lately, drinking it every day for months, look at me: don’t I look younger?”

So, what is mirto? It is no surprise that you will come across this popular liquor in Sardinia, which is commonly consumed as a digestive for a sweet finish or as an ‘ammazzacaffe’ following a bitter coffee. But the origins of Mirto can be first traced back to ancient times, when the Egyptians began crushing the leaves of the myrtle plant and adding them to wine to be used for medicinal purposes.

Mirto is obtained from the berries of the myrtle plant, which grows throughout the Mediterranean, and is especially abundant on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. Myrtle plants and berries have long been used for their properties back in the 16^th century. The Greeks and the Romans used the plant to adorn their temples and cities, they replaced it with laurel to crown poets, they put it on brides around their necks, they shipped it to new colonies because they believed it brought luck. In Greek mythology the myrtle was also sacred to the goddess Aphrodite as when she emerged from the sea, the myrtle trees bloomed in her honor. The plant has become a symbol of love and there are two myths that connects to the myrtle in which Myrsine, a chaste girl beloved by Athena who was murdered as she outdid all the other athletes and was turned into a myrtle by Athena, which became sacred to her. In the second myth, Myrina was a dedicated priestess of Aphrodite who was abducted to be married despite her vows, Aphrodite turned her into myrtle, and gave it fragrant smell, as her favorite and sacred plant.

It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that its berries began being used to make beauty ointments that perfumed the body and were endowed with healing powers. It is also closely associated to Jewish liturgy, as the myrtle is one of the four sacred plants (Four Species) of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles representing the different types of personality making up the community. The myrtle having fragrance but not pleasant taste, represents those who have good deeds to their credit despite not having knowledge from Torah study. The three branches are braided together by the worshipers a palm leaf, a willow bough, and a myrtle branch. The etrog or citron is the fruit held in the other hand as part of the lulav wave ritual. In Jewish mysticism, the myrtle represents the masculine force at work in the universe. For this reason, myrtle branches were sometimes given to the bridegroom as he entered the nuptial chamber after a wedding. The story of Purim ( Purim – a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, recounted in the Book of Esther) also states Hadass (myrtle) as symbol of a person who does good deeds but is ignorant, and when Hadassah is transformed into her new role as Queen Esther, she undergoes a myrrh-cleansing ritual which can be seen as a transformation that provides feminine powers and cleansing, and served as a purpose of an ending to the beautiful myrtle plant. Side tracking to the myrrh, it is mentioned in the New Testament as one of the three gifts that the magi ‘’from the east” presented to the Christ Child and at Jesus’ burial. With its religious and historical significance, the myrtle plant complements the myrrh as a traditional Purim perfume and ceremonial practices.

The mirto drink is made by infusing a base alcoholic spirit such as Vodka, with fresh myrtle berries for 40 days, then filtered, pressed, bottled and aged. The berries are collected traditionally before Christmas, but they are ripe anytime from December to January. They have a blue-violet color, reminiscent of blueberries. The base spirit absorbs the aromas, flavors and color of the berries. The leaves and berries are mixed in variable proportion. There are two versions: the red myrtle (Mirto Rosso), which is sweeter and made with berries of the black variety, and white myrtle (Mirto Bianco), obtained from depigmented berries and has a lighter, more delicate flavor. The alcoholic percentage normally rests around the 30% mark and there is even a yearly celebration of this sweet liquor, held in the village of Telti, near Olbia, Sardinia in August.