Cristal is the name of a number of brands of

aguardiente ( Portuguese) or ( Spanish) (; ; ) is a type of distilled alcoholic spirit that contains between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It is a somewhat generic term that can refer to liquors made from various foods. It originates from and is t ...

in South America.

Colombia

An aguardiente named Cristal is produced in

Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Caldas Department, Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an importa ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

in 1950 by Sergio Castro Brandon (Licorera de Manizales). The Colombian brand Aguardiente CRISTAL , is made by distilling fermented

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

juice. It is the most imported label of Aguardiente in the United States.. This brand of aguardiente was named after its founder, Christel Babach Doroudgar who lived in Pereira and moved to Sydney Australia not long after.

Ecuador

The

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

ian brand of

named Cristal is marketed on a national scale. Like its closest competitor, Zhumir it is sometimes, incorrectly, called

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

Origins

Cristal is produced by Embotelladora Azuaya S.A. and has been offered for 45 years.:Cristal:
however the tradition of making and bottling aguardiente in the valleys of the province of

Azuay Azuay (, ), Province of Azuay is a province of Ecuador, created on 25 June 1824. It encompasses an area of . Its capital and largest city is Cuenca. It is located in the south center of Ecuador in the highlands. Its mountains reach above sea le ...

goes back much further. As with Zhumir, Cristal grows the cane for its product in Azuay, and has its headquarters in

Cuenca Cuenca may refer to: People * Cuenca (surname) Places Ecuador * Cuenca Canton, in the Azuay Province ** Cuenca, Ecuador, capital of Cuenca Canton and Azuay Province ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuenca Peru * Cuenca District, Huarochirí ...

. The brand name Cristal refers to the complete clarity of the original aguardiente, which is visually indistinguishable from pure

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

Flavours

Cristal, in order to remain competitive, offers a number of flavours of aguardiente in addition to four types of the traditional flavourless variety. Cristal Clasico - triple filtered, dry, flavourless aguardiente, 84

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...

.
Cristal Suave - triple filtered, dry, flavourless aguardiente, 64 proof.
Cristal Seco - triple filtered, ultra-dry, flavourless aguardiente, 68 proof.
Cristal Seco Suave - triple filtered, ultra-dry, flavourless aguardiente, 56 proof.
Cristal Durazno -

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

flavoured, semi-dry aguardiente, 40 proof.
Cristal Naranja -

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

flavoured, semi-dry aguardiente, 48 proof.
Cristal Limon -

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

flavoured, semi-dry aguardiente, 40 proof. In addition, Cristal offers four flavours of sparkling aguardiente coolers under the brand name "C by Cristal" Original - a sparkling, exotic-fruit cocktail flavoured cooler, 10 proof.
Sexy Apple - a sparkling, green

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

flavoured cooler, 10 proof.
Fashion Orange - a sparkling, sweet

flavoured cooler, 10 proof.
Xtreme Wild - a sparkling cooler with what the company describes as a "Wild" flavour, 10 proof.

References

Distilled drinks {{Distilled-beverage-stub