Mirto - Sardinia's Favorite Liqueur

There's a shameful little secret all travelers have in common. We've all done it, every single one of us, and I'm sure you're no exception.

Red Mirto, Sardinia's favorite tipple

I'm talking about that dusty stash of bottles hidden away at the back of a cupboard somewhere in your kitchen or dining room. The barely tasted bottle of limoncello brought back from that great holiday in Sicily all those years ago. That fabulous aged tequila that you lugged back from Mexico, determined to educate your friends and family about what the "real thing" tastes like. The unopened bottle of sake a well-meaning relative gave you after a trip to Japan or the evil-looking Genepi from a ski trip to the Alps...

We've all got them, and we all forget about them. Until the end of that fabulous dinner party that is when, after a few too many glasses of wine, some misguided impulse compels you to delve around in the back of that cupboard, blow the dust off a couple of bottles and force a few of glasses on your bemused guests. Invariably, as you fumble for the aspirin the next morning, you swear to clear that cupboard out once and for all and tip the lot down the sink... but you never quite get round to it.

But why? Why, when we're normally so careful with the pennies do we find ourselves with hundreds of pounds worth of perfectly good alcohol that we never touch?

Personally, I think that liqueurs are so inextricably linked to the cultures and environments that produced them that they're never quite the same tasted out of context.

Myrtle berries on the bush, ready to be made into mirto

Take Sardinian mirto for example. It's made from the berries and/or leaves of the myrtle bush (Myrtus Communis) which flourishes in Sardinia's poor soil, growing up to six metres tall. It can be found everywhere on the island, forming part of the wild "macchia mediterranea" that covers just about every inch of undeveloped or unfarmed land.

The last 20 years have seen programmes started to selectively breed some of the 40 wild varieties of myrtle in order to improve and standardise yields, specifically with the production of mirto in mind, but the tipple's origins are truly ancient. Both the red and less common white varieties of the liqueur have been produced here for hundreds of years.

Mirto rosso (red mirto) is made from the crushed berries whilst mirto bianco (white mirto) is made from the leaves. The processes for making both are similar, seeing the berry or leaf pulp steeped in alcohol (usually grape spirit) for around two months. The resulting liquid is then filtered, mixed with sugar syrup and bottled at 30-35% alcohol.

I can't count the number of times I've sat in the departure lounge at Cagliari airport watching departing tourists in the gift shops. Already nostalgic for long dinners under lemon trees, perfectly cooked roast suckling pig and the scent of citronella candles drifting in the warm dusk air, they pick up a bottle of this fabulous liqueur as a reminder, hoping to recapture the magic of those perfect meals back home. It never has quite the same effect though when tasted in the dining room somewhere in London, and we already know it'll end up gathering dust along with those other sad relics of holidays past.

No! Mirto is too good a tipple to waste, so we've come up with a couple of recipes guaranteed to transport you back (gastronomically speaking) to Sardinia and conjure up a little of that mirto magic on a rainy day.

Sardinian Tiramisú

Ingredients:

• 500g ricotta
• 250g icing sugar
• 150ml white mirto
• 400ml water
• 40 ladyfinger biscuits
• A little cocoa powder

In a large bowl, whisk the ricotta together with the sugar
When thoroughly blended, whisk in three dessert spoons of mirto to get a smooth, creamy mix (if needed, blend in a few drops of milk)
In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining mirto and the water
Dip the ladyfingers in the water and mirto mix, allowing them to soak up the liquid without getting too soggy
Cover the base of  a high-sided serving platter with a tin layer of ricotta, then lay some of the ladyfingers on top.
Carry on alternating layers of ladyfingers with ricotta mixture until both have been used up (finish up with a layer of the ricotta)
Refrigerate for at least two hours, dust with a layer of cocoa and serve

Mirto Martini

Ingredients:

• 4 parts orange vodka
• 3 parts mirto
• 3 parts fresh lime juice
• 2 parts Cointreau
• 1 part simple sugar syrup

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add all the ingredients and shake well
Strain into a chilled martini glass and, if desired garnish with a few fresh blueberries

We'd love to hear what you think of these recipes, and let us know if you have any other tried and tested ways of using up leftover mirto!

www.sardiniaholidayconcierge.co.uk

The Festival of Sant'Efisio in Sardinia

The Festival of Sant'Efisio in Pula

The festival of Sant'Efisio, celebrated in early May every year is one of the most important dates in the Sardinian calendar. Visitors to the island have long loved the excuse to photograph the locals dressed in the stunning traditional costumes, hear Sardinian folk music and marvel at the bright colors, flower-strewn streets and festive atmosphere, but few really understand the origins of the festival.

Traditional dress at the Sagra di Sant'Efisio

 Sant'Efisio is the patron saint of Sardinia. Born during the 3rd century AD in Asia Minor to a pagan mother and Christian father, he was enrolled in the Roman army to fight Christians under Dioclesian. During the long journey to Europe however, he underwent an epiphany and converted to Christianity himself. According to the legend, one night he was visited by a vision of a shining cross appearing amongst the clouds accompanied by a voice warning him not to join in the persecution of Christians.

On revealing his conversion to Dioclesian, he was accused of being a traitor to the Roman empire and subsequently imprisoned, tortured and finally martyred on the beach at Nora on the 15th of January 303AD.

A church was built in his honor in the eleventh century, and still stands to this day. It's a stunning location, right on the beach at Nora, and legend claims that it is on the exact spot on which Efisio was decapitated. In Cagliari, Sardinia's capital city, there are both a church and a crypt bearing his name. According to legend, the crypt is where Efisio was imprisoned before being transported to Nora to be put to death. It's open to the public now, and guides will point out the column to which he was supposedly shackled. There's evidence that the site has been used for worship since the 5th century, although recent history has seen it used as both an air-raid shelter and rubbish dump.

Horsemen escorting the saint's image to Nora

The Chiesa di Sant'Efisio in Cagliari was built in the 18th century and is home to the statue of his likeness. Visitors will notice the cannonballs embedded in the back wall, a legacy from the French attack on Cagliari in 1793. The Sardinians were said to have had some help from the saint himself in winning that particular battle.
In 1655, Sant'Efisio was said to have saved Cagliari from a particularly violent outbreak of the plague, which lead to the decision to honor him by giving him his own festival (the Sagra di Sant'Efisio) every May.

Sardinians of all ages take part

On the 1st of May, his statue is dressed in all his finery and loaded onto a golden carriage, pulled by bulls. He is then taken on the long pilgrimage from Cagliari to Nora, escorted by horsemen, locals in vibrant traditional costumes, musicians and pilgrims (some barefoot). The procession arrives in Pula on the 2nd of May, and moves onto Nora that afternoon. The long return journey begins on the 4th of May, and the saint and his escorts will have traveled a total of 80km by the time he is safely returned to his church in the city.

Although the festival has been celebrated in Sardinia for hundreds of years, Sant'Efisio's remains have, until recently been kept in Pisa. The 12th of May 2011 finally saw their return to Cagliari

You can see more images of the 2012 Sagra di Sant'Efisio by clicking here

Or contact us at www.sardiniaholidayconcierge.co.uk for more information or to arrange a visit to Sardinia for the festivities next year

Fun Facts About Sardinia

We think Sardinia is one of the most fascinating places on Earth with a rich culture and history.

Just for fun, here are a few interesting facts about the island of Sardinia that we just love. We hope you like them too... they'll come in handy for impressing fellow holidaymakers over dinner!

Sardinia's coastline (1,850km) makes up over a quarter of the entire Italian coast

Geologically speaking, Sardinia is one of the most ancient bodies of land in Europe being 500 million years old

A growing number of scholars believe that Sardinia is actually the site of the Lost City of Atlantis.

Sardinia may be small, but it has it's own language which varies drastically from one area to the next. The Sard language is based on Latin but still bears the influence of the ancient languages of the Nuraghic period (such as the word Nuraghe itself) as well as smatterings of Catalan, Corsican, Arabic, Phonecian and Genoese... legacies left by the island's many invaders.

When Ringo Starr visited Sardinia in 1968 on Peter Sellers' boat, he was served octopus for lunch by the captain. The resulting conversation between the two men was the inspiration behind The Beatles song "Octopus's Garden"

The English phrase "Sardonic grin" comes from the effect of a toxic local herb which causes convulsive laughter in its victims.

Sardinia's inhabitants have the highest percentage of people over the age of 100 in the world (22 centenarians per 100,000 inhabitants)... maybe down to the fantastic diet and unpolluted air? It's no coincidence that the traditional Sardinian greeting is "A kent'annos" (may you live to 100).

The tiny island of Asinara off the coast of Sardinia is home to a colony of 250 miniature albino donkeys and, according to the 2001 census, just one man. The island of Tavolara is also worth a mention as being officially a kingdom... The current monarch actually owns a restaurant on the island but proudly bears the regal title given to his ancestors in 1848

Sardinia is the Mediterranean's second largest island after Sicily. It's also the third biggest region in Italy (after Sicily and Piedmont) but due to the fact that the interior of the island is mainly uninhabited, it ranks only 11th according to population size.

About 10 million tourists visit the island every year.

25% of Sardinia (600,000 hectares) has been designated as national parkland or wildlife reserves.

Sardinia's original name (dating from 1500BC) was Ichnusa. This comes from combining the word "island" ("nusa") with "Hyskos" after the tribe who rose to power in the 17th century BC and ruled areas of Egypt before invading Sardinia.

Sardinia has over 7,000 prehistoric archaeological sites dating from before 1,000BC.

A culinary speciality unique to Sardinia is "casu marzu" cheese which contains live maggots... and yes, you guessed it, it's considered a potent aphrodisiac by the locals. It makes for pretty lively eating though as when disturbed, the maggots can "jump" up to 6 inches in the air!

The world-famous internet company, Tiscali was founded in Sardinia and is still based in Cagliari. The company is named after a 2,000 year old nuraghic village on the island.

Yes, the word "sardines" does come from Sardinia, although sadly stocks of the fish have been depleted by overfishing.

If you have any other fascinating facts about Sardinia, we'd love to hear them! If this has inspired you to find out more about the island, just contact us for luxury Sardinian holiday villas.

Flights to Sardinia

Our guests are always asking us for help with finding the right flights to Sardinia so we thought we would put together this little guide to flights to the island for 2012.

For such a small island, Sardinia has three main international airports and these are:

Cagliari serving the whole South coast (Cagliari Elmas)
Olbia on the North East coast (Aeroporto Internazionale di Olbia Costa Smeralda)
Alghero on the North West coast (Alghero Fertila)


Please do make sure that you get the right airport for you; If you've booked accommodation in Cagliari for example and flights into Olbia, the 3.5 hours drive between the two ends of the island may come as a surprise and won't be the best start to a relaxing holiday.

From the UK, Sardinia is connected with direct flights by the following airlines:

Easyjet flies from London Stansted into Cagliari or into Olbia from Bristol or London Gatwick
British Airways flies from London Gatwick into Cagliari
Ryanair runs cheap flights from London Stansted to Alghero
Jet2 Connects Olbia airport with Edinburgh or Leeds Bradford
BMI fly into Alghero from East Midlands Airport
Thomson fly into Alghero from London Gatwick
Meridiana Fly fly from London Gatwick to Olbia


We've prepared a little overview below showing full details of the flights to Sardinia, which months the routes are open and the departure times to make it easy for you to find the flight that suits you best:

Departing Airline Day First Date Last Date Departs UK

Cagliari
Stansted Easyjet Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri 25th March 26th Oct 07:35
Stansted Easyjet Tue, Thur Year round Year round 07:35
Stansted Easyjet Sat Year round Year round 16:50
Manchester BA Charter Sat 26th May 22nd Sept 18:55
Heathrow BA Charter Sat 19th May 06th Oct 15:05

Olbia

Gatwick Easyjet Sat 28th Apr 27th Oct 12:25
Gatwick Easyjet Sat 28th Jul 01st Sep 14:30
Gatwick Easyjet Sun 29th Apr 02nd Sep 07:15
Gatwick Easyjet Mon 30th July 24th Sep 09:10
Gatwick Easyjet Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri 27th Apr 28th Sep 10:55
Gatwick Meridiana Fly Tue 12th Jun 25th Jun 10:55
Gatwick Meridiana Fly Sat 09th Jun 29th Sep 18:50
Bristol Easyjet Sat 16th Jun 22nd Sep 16:55
Bristol Easyjet Wed 20th Jun 12th Sep 06:45
Leeds Bradford Jet2 Sat 19th May 29th Sep 16:35
Edinburgh Jet2 Sat 19th May 29th Sep 15:15
Manchester BA Charter Sun 27th May 30th Sep 08:30
Heathrow BA Charter Sat 26th May 29th Sep 09:10

Alghero

Gatwick Thomson Sat 05th May 29th Sep 06:30
Stansted Ryanair Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri 25th Mar 21st Oct 06:15
East Midlands BmiBaby Sat 31st Mar 14th Apr 16:45
East Midlands BmiBaby Sat 21st Apr 08th Sep 07:10
East Midlands BmiBaby Sat 15th Sep 22nd Sep 16:45
East Midlands BmiBaby Sat 29th Sep 27th Oct 08:00
East Midlands BmiBaby Wed 25th Jul 05th Sep 09:00
Dublin Ryanair Sun, Wed 25th Mar 24th Oct 17:15


Please do be aware when booking flights though that most villas and other self-catering accommodation in Sardinia do run on a strictly Saturday to Saturday basis so look into all the options before committing to flights.

Most villas in Sardinia also offer check-in times after 3pm and check-out is generally at 10am which is also worth bearing in mind when booking your flights.

If you are looking to fly into Sardinia from somewhere other than the UK, please don't hesitate to contact us and we'll be happy to help you find more flight options.

Alternatively, you'll find information on ferries to Sardinia here.

Enjoy your trip!

How to Get the Best Deals on Your Sardinia Holiday

As one of the most beautiful and exclusive islands in the Mediterranean, Sardinia is not a budget holiday destination. However, follow a few simple rules and make those holiday dollars work for you.

1) Fly on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday
These are traditionally off-peak days for airlines so flying on these days can mean lower fares and less crowded cabins. Beware though if you're looking at self-catering villa accommodation in Sardinia, especially during the peak months... most properties adhere to a strict Saturday to Saturday stay and trying to economise by booking a mid-week flight can leave you seriously struggling to find the perfect villa.

2) Think Self-Catering
The cost of restaurant meals three times a day for the whole family whilst on holiday can really add up so consider self-catering villa options with good kitchen facilities to allow you to make the most of Sardinia's fresh local produce and save money at the same time.

3) Look Out for Discounted Flights
Most airlines offer deals and discounts on flights over Christmas and New Year, at Easter and in August.

4) Sign up for Email Notifications
Many sales on flights and accommodation are often unannounced to the general public with service providers preferring to notify their loyal customers of preferential deals. To avoid being bombarded by unwanted mail, create a new email account and use this to sign up to the mailing lists of companies you like the look of then simply log in when you come to plan your holiday and you'll have all the best deals and news at your fingertips.

5) Team up With a Friend
Many self catering holiday villas in Sardinia will offer discounts for stays of two weeks or over, with even better deals to be had if you book for a month or longer. If you're looking for a shorter stay, it's worth finding out which of your friends are also looking to holiday in Sardinia this summer so you can book the same property. If you stay for the first two weeks of July and your friends take the same villa for the second two weeks you can often secure really good savings for the total period.

Alternatively, holiday together with a friend. Especially in holiday villas you will find that the price per person is significantly lower for four bedroom properties than for two bedroom houses of the same standard. Larger villas are also much more likely to have extra facilities like private swimming pools than smaller properties.

6) Look for Added Value
Book villas with reputable companies that are happy to go the extra mile to make your holiday the best it can be. Services like a fully stocked fridge on arrival, restaurant recommendations and help with planning your itinerary will all ensure you get the best out of your holiday.

7) Stick to Off-Peak Dates
July and August in Sardinia can be expensive. May, June September and October are wonderful months to visit the island with bright sunshine, warm seas and far fewer tourists on the beaches so wherever possible try to travel at those times. You can often get the same hotel, Bed and Breakfast or villa for half the amount you would pay during peak season.

8) Find a Great Holiday Concierge
As English speaking residents of Sardinia, we often have access to deals, services and suppliers that the general public doesn't and can save you time and money as well as helping you discover the hidden corners of the island that only locals know about.

www.sardiniaholidayconcierge.co.uk

20% Off Flights to Sardinia

Easy Jet is now offering a whopping 20% off flights to Sardinia from February to the 11th of July.

They fly to either Olbia (in the North) or Cagliari (on Sardinia's South coast) from London Stansted, Gatwick or Bristol

You have to hurry though if you want to grab a bargain; the sale ends at midnight on Tuesday!

http://www.easyjet.com/EN