The curious connection between windmills and Palo de Mallorca
Mallorca’s windmills are a staple of the island’s landscape. When arriving in Palma by plane, many visitors catch a glimpse of these windmills from their window, particularly in the Plà de Sant Jordi. But few are aware of the history behind these structures and their surprising connection to the liqueur Palo de Mallorca.
Plà de Sant Jordi, a marshy area
The Plà de Sant Jordi is situated next to Palma airport and just a few kilometres from the old city walls that once surrounded the city. It has always been a damp, marshy area with brackish water, teeming with mosquitoes and foul odours. It was a breeding ground for the Anopheles mosquito, which spread malaria.
What were the windmills at Pla de Sant Jordi used for?
These windmills have large sails that turn to face the wind. The system as a whole is designed to draw water from deep underground, thereby enabling crops to be irrigated. At the same time, they also helped to drain the entire marshy area and transform it into fertile agricultural land.
The marshy areas, cinchona and the Palo
In the mid-17th century, the Countess of Chinchón, Viceroy’s wife in Lima, fell ill with a fever. A Jesuit priest gave her a powder made from the bark of the cinchona plant (Cinchona officinalis), which the indigenous people used, and it cured her. She then had some branches sent to Europe, where it was confirmed that the remedy was highly effective.
The cinchona bark powder was taken with sugar and preserved in alcohol. Years later, it became a superb aperitif, which in Mallorca was called ‘Palo’, due to its origin, as it came from the bark of the cinchona tree, native to the Amazon.
Towards the end of the 18th century, the link was discovered between tertian fevers (malaria) and flooded lands, which were a breeding ground for the disease. It was then decided to drain the entire Sant Jordi area with the help of windmills and canals that diverted the water into the stream.
Thus, we can see that both the windmills and the Mallorcan ‘Palo’ made a hugely significant contribution to eradicating malaria in Mallorca.
El Palo today: the great Mallorcan aperitif
It began as a medicine, but today El Palo is a traditional Mallorcan drink that is usually enjoyed, mixed with water or soda water, as an aperitif. El Palo is produced by macerating and/or infusing cinchona bark and gentian roots with sugar, caramelised sucrose and ethyl alcohol. The recipe has been adapted to modern tastes, containing less cinchona and gentian extract and more sugar and alcohol.
It has a sweet flavour, with the flavours of the plant extracts, the caramelised sugar and the alcohol content all blending harmoniously.
In order to protect the geographical name ‘Palo de Mallorca’, the Geographical Indication Regulation was approved in 1993, certifying that the drink is a speciality produced on the island.
Final conclusion
Today, the windmills of Pla de Sant Jordi no longer serve the purpose they once did, but they remain one of Mallorca’s most recognisable symbols. Thanks to them, a marshy area was transformed into fertile and productive land, whilst also leaving a fascinating historical link with one of the island’s most traditional drinks: Palo de Mallorca.
Mallorca not only produces the well-known Palo but also other highly prized liqueurs; you can find out more here: Liquors from Mallorca
