kellycrull.com - expat life in Spain

My parents left today. They’ve hopefully landed in Chicago already. My dad and I played a lot of frisbee in the park these last couple of weeks while they were staying with us. I still remember the frisbee advice my dad used to give me as a kid. “It’s all in the wrist,” he’d say.

Well, this week it was my turn to give my dad the same bit of advice. We were at my favorite paella place, Arrocería Gala, (the kind of place you only go to once a year when your parents are visiting) and for dessert I asked the waiter to bring out some porrón, a Spanish dessert wine.

Some say that drinks like cider, for example, taste the best just after they’ve been poured from the bottle. In fact, I was just in San Sebastian, a town known for its cider, and traditionally their cider is served only one or two sips at a time. They say the cider is the best just after it has been poured. I’ve ever heard someone say that a chemical reaction occurs in cider as it is being poured that brings out the full flavor.

People go so far with this thinking that they’ll put their cider glass on the floor, stand on top of their chair, and attempt to pour the cider into the glass from a distance of two meters or so just to get the best results from their cider.

Anyway, the same is true for porrón. The flavor is best just after it’s been poured, and the longer the wine is in motion before it hits your glass, the better.

So, my fellow Spaniards have concocted a funny device for drinking porrón. It’s this glass jug with a long spout that comes to a point. There’s a tiny hole at the end with a diameter equal to a spaghetti noodle.

Here’s where the frisbee advice comes in. The trick is to hold the jug above your head, aim the spout at your face (!), and flick your wrist. If the wine gods are on your side, you’ll feel a tickle at the back of your mouth, and the wine will create a perfect arc from the spout into your mouth.

If you’re truly after a full-flavored porrón, or just want to impress the Mrs., you’ll carefully pull the jug away from your mouth, so the wine is a good distance away. I think my dad, the one in the photo, managed maybe a hand’s length or more between the spout and his mouth.

And if you’re not so lucky, you’ll have wine stinging your eyes and dripping from your nose. And in some rare cases if your mom happens to be in town visiting and sitting next to you, you may find her dipping her napkin in her glass of water and smearing it all over your face before you even have a chance to say anything.