108-year-old woman swears by daily shots of alcoholic liqueur

If living for as long as possible is a priority for you, you can do a lot worse than ask the centenarians for advice.

The average life expectancy in the UK is a pretty whopping 82. If you want an indicator of how good industrialisation, availability of food, and modern medicine really are, the average life expectancy in the UK in 1900 was 44 for men and 48 for women.

125 years on from then, living beyond 82 is becoming a more and more realistic proposition for people in the developed world, and the number of centenarians is on the rise. That said, only 0.01% of people will reach 100, or one in 10,000.

One of those is northern Spain’s 108-year-old Esperanza Cortiñas, and she’s still mobile, sociable and vital even in her triple-digit years.

Esperanza Cortiñas swears by a daily shot and a love of dance (COPE Ourense)

Cortiñas lives with her 76-year-old daughter, Mari Carmen, in Ourense, and she recently spoke with COPE radio station about her lifestyle and the key factors that she believes led her past the 100-years mark.

In short: ‘working, being active, eating well, being cheerful and fun’.

"I worked hard all my life since I was little when I was taking care of cows, which helped me a lot,” Cortiñas told the radio station. She said she’s also focused on eating ‘products like vegetables or fruits’, but noted that she ‘can eat everything’.

Along with working hard, remaining sociable, and a commitment to joie de vivre, Cortiñas said she has a ‘shot of coffee liqueur’ every day. She added, ‘before coming to the radio, I already took my shot of coffee liqueur’.

It’s a popular tipple in Galicia, and some studies have indicated that moderate drinking may help with preventing particular chronic health conditions. Generally speaking, however, the medical community believes the best alcohol consumption level is nil.

The 108-year-old, per Cope.es, gets up each morning at 11am and typically has her coffee liqueur shot before eating. Her daughter then whips up a locally-sourced lunch for 1pm.

At 4pm, Cortiñas often heads out and gets the bus into the city where she visits friends at an old people’s home.

"I have many friends and we have a great time,” she said of the habit.

Ourense is a stunning place, and the notorious Blue Zones typically are too (Ventura Carmona/Getty Images)

While she generally plays cards on Monday through Saturday, she gets her dancing shoes on for Sunday.

"I danced a lot in my life and I always liked it," Cortiñas explained. Unfortunately, a hip fracture in 2024 meant she had to reduce her dance sessions to just one per week, but she remains committed to the groove nevertheless.