Talk:Ratafia

Kingston Trio
Ratafia is also the word used in the Kingston Trio version of "Poor Miss Bailey". The version on the internet uses Turpentine, which makes less sense, given the "Captain Bold"'s general character as depicted in the song.

"The flavorings can potentially make this liqueur toxic, as peach and cherry kernels contain high levels of hydrogen cyanide (about 1.7 mg per gram of kernel), as do bitter almonds (2.5 mg/g)." Is there a specific reference for this? Because if my math and my research is correct, you'd need over 19 kilograms of those flavorings before hitting lethal dose. 77.195.119.24 (talk) 14:48, 14 February 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.86.112.86 (talk) 20:17, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

Source reference
Is there any source reference for the "Rata Fiat" etymology? The sources I typically rely on all have 'origin unknown or doubtful'.Athulin (talk) 13:21, 7 January 2012 (UTC)


 * I just found a mention in The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson (3rd ed., 2014; ed. T. Jaine). It cites J. Favre (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Favre): Dictionnaire universel de cuisine (1903?, repr. 1978) as its source for the 'rata fiat' etymology, but does not mention any other suggested derivation. Athulin (talk) 16:41, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

Added: The earliest mention of the word that I have found seems to be Gilles Ménage's Dictionnaire étymologique de la Langue françoise (1650 & 1670) which says 'un mot des Indes orientales (tafia, tafiat)', which suggests that the word is likely to be older than that, provided that the reference can be verified. The word does not seem to present in the 1650 edition, and I've only found it in the 1694 edition so far. (See http://dictionnaire.sensagent.com/Ratafia/fr-fr/, which also notes that the reference to a latin origin is suspect.). Apart from this 'metause', Boileau used the word in his tenth Satire in 1692, and Dancourt in the comedy La Comédie des comédiens, ou l'Amour charlatan (1710). Neither use seems to suggest a neologism.Athulin (talk) 21:35, 24 August 2013 (UTC)


 * No, it's utter nonsense, bordering on joke or vandalism. Anyway it's gone now. Chiswick Chap (talk) 10:35, 23 March 2015 (UTC)

In Catalonia Ratafia is a traditional Catalan liqueur. A heady concoction of around 50 aromatic herbs, flowers, frutits and spices, this sweet, caramel-coloured drink is said to have a medicinal properties. Traditionally, the herbs are gathered on the eve of the midsummer festival of Sant Joan when they saig to be imbued with magical qualities.The Rataifa have become a supermarket staples, but remains very much a local product. And Although small distilleries in Olot, Sant Quirze de Besora, Lleida… produce ratafia commercially, the practice of making it at home is still widespread. Ther are many festivals to promove this liqueur in Santa Coloma de Farners (since 1981), Besalú, and Centelles. The first recorded exemple of ratafia dates back to 1842 from a recipe found in the Catalan city of Santa Coloma de Farners. Where there are a locals associations working to promove this liqueur. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.46.186.240 (talk) 11:28, 3 June 2012 (UTC)

Ratafia most probably from Tafia
Hi, Ratafia is often made with Tafia (Molasses Rhum). The "ratification" etymology, baring a source, should be removed. Tafia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafia. T 85.166.160.249 (talk) 17:07, 12 August 2019 (UTC)