Sap tapped from a felled coyol palm, fermented inside the trunk itself and drunk cloudy. It is a Guanacaste dry-season drink: the palm is cut down, the crown hollowed into a basin, and sap collected from it daily as it ferments in place.
The drink requires felling a palm and fermenting the sap inside the trunk, which is the whole method; there is nothing that happens in a kitchen.
What goes into it
- sap of the coyol palm, Acrocomia aculeata
- nothing else
How it is made
The palm is felled and a hollow scooped into the top of the trunk. Sap wells up into that hollow and is scraped and collected each morning; wild yeasts in the wood ferment it where it stands, so what is drawn on day one is sweet and what is drawn later is alcoholic. A single trunk yields for a few weeks and is then finished.
How long it takes: a few weeks of daily collection from one felled palm
How it is eaten
From a cup at a dry-season fiesta in Guanacaste; drinkers warn that sun after drinking brings the effect back.
History
A Guanacaste dry-season drink; the palm is cut, the crown hollowed, and sap collected daily as it ferments.
Frequently asked questions
What is Vino de coyol?
Vino de coyol is a wine & spirit from Costa Rica: sap tapped from the felled coyol palm, fermented in the trunk and drunk cloudy. A Guanacaste dry-season drink; the palm is cut, the crown hollowed, and sap collected daily as it ferments.
How is Vino de coyol made?
The palm is felled and a hollow scooped into the top of the trunk. Sap wells up into that hollow and is scraped and collected each morning; wild yeasts in the wood ferment it where it stands, so what is drawn on day one is sweet and what is drawn later is alcoholic. A single trunk yields for a few weeks and is then finished. It takes a few weeks of daily collection from one felled palm.
Can I make Vino de coyol at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The drink requires felling a palm and fermenting the sap inside the trunk, which is the whole method; there is nothing that happens in a kitchen.
What goes into Vino de coyol?
Sap of the coyol palm, Acrocomia aculeata, nothing else.
How is Vino de coyol eaten?
From a cup at a dry-season fiesta in Guanacaste; drinkers warn that sun after drinking brings the effect back.
