Ratafia

Ratafia is a homemade brandy-based liqueur made with sour cherries, including the stones, which impart a bitter-almond flavor. The name usually is thought to be derived from the Latin phrase ut rata fiat, or res rata fiat (“consider it done”), a late-seventeenth-century toast drunk at the conclusion of an accord but eventually transferred to the liqueur itself. However, some sources indicate that ratafia owes its etymology to French Antilles Creole for a sugarcane-based eau-de-vie (tafia), perhaps with the addition of the Malay name for the liquor arrack (araq).