I just got back from Lisbon and I want to go there again now! When I was there, I tried ginjinha in a place next to the Elevador da Gloria in Praça dos Restauradores. I think it's called Ginjinha do Rossio but I'm not sure. Anyway, the tourbooks -- Fodor's in particular -- describe ginjinha as "eye-wateringly strong cherry brandy," but what I was served was more of a sugary, thick liqueur that was anything but eye-watering. The alcohol content of this was about 20%, which is comparable to Port wine. My idea of eye-watering is something like aguardente (Portuguese grappa), which is in the neighborhood of 40-45% alcohol. Also, what I was served was called Ginja, not Ginjinha, if that's important. ("Ginjinha" means "little Ginja", but I'm not sure if there is a significant difference in the beverage.)

So my question is: what was I served? Was I served the real thing, or did I get the sugary, touristy junk and the bartender left the eye-watering, rocket-fuel type stuff on the shelf?

Hi tdyls.
We were served the same liquid in the same place, I think.

It didn't make me want to rush out and get more when we are there!

How long were you in Lisbon/Portugal?

We landed on Christmas Day and left on the 30th. Too short a time.

We stayed in Lisbon the whole time except for one daytrip to Sintra. I'll post an in-depth trip report in a few days....

no, you did not miss anything.