It may be the dead of Winter, but this past weekend, San Francisco felt like pure Summer, with clear skies and balmy temperatures. I decided to celebrate with a drink that couldn't be more appropriate: the Caipirinha.
This drink, is made with limes, as well as a special liquor called achaça, which incidentally happens to be the national liquor of Brazil. Over the past five years, cachaça has developed a large fan base in the United States. Like rum, it's made from sugarcane, but while rum is made from distilled molasses, cachaça is the product of fermented sugarcane juice. To make this cocktail, you can choose any brand, but I used Água Luca ($28.99), a premium variety of cachaça that's filtered a whopping 12 times.
On the nose, it resembles tequila, and it has a light, clean flavor with a slightly sweet finish. Although Água Luca can easily be enjoyed by itself on the rocks, its sweet-tart flavor is incredible when used in a caipirinha. To transport your palate to Brazil, read more.
From Água Luca
Ingredients
2 oz. cachaça
1 oz. simple syrup
1 lime, quartered
Cracked ice
Directions
- In a shaker, muddle sugar and limes thoroughly.
- Add cachaça and cracked ice. Shake vigorously and pour contents of shaker, including ice, into an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Makes 1 cocktail.
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Emilio Pucci
I LOVE caipirinhas!!!! so refreshing and potent without being too much to handle. I had one at a bar in Boston that made it with muddled berries, it was divine.
1Mmmmm... yummy.
2Its tradition for me & the bf to go to one of the churrascaria restaurants (Brazilian Steakhouses) in Atlanta, and we always get there about 20 minutes before our reservation so we can enjoy a caiprinha at the bar before our meal.
I've always wanted to know how to make one of these. Thanks for the recipe!
3My love for cairpirinhas is only second to my love of mojitos. So delicious and refreshing!
4I wanted a super strong drink that I could really get acquainted with, so I used a highball glass and doubled the recipe!
5Don't use simple syrup - you want the granules of sugar to assist in the muddling of the limes. As for the shaker, I've never seen much need.
I had an amazingly authentic (and thus, a tad harsh) caipirinha in a neighborhood party in Rio. Two limes cut into eighths plopped into a cup (I got one of those giant 16 oz. plastic jobs - whoo!). Add about a tablespoon of sugar and muddle. Fill with ice cubes. Fill with cachaça and stir with a straw. Don't worry about everything being evenly distributed - each sip should be a little different: some sweet, some sour, some very boozy, some not so much.
6Love these!!
7@Shoneyjoe - you have a point! I'm huge on the convenience of simple syrup, but there is something about the granulated character of regular sugar in combination with the muddled limes that can make a caipirinha sensation. If you're a sugar fan like shoneyjoe, you can use 2 tsp. of granulated sugar instead.
8Thanks for the recipe! I always wanted to make one of those. I wonder how it would taste with absinthe??
9real caipirinha must be made with granulated sugar!! no brazillian i know (myself included) uses simple syrup for caipirinha even if it is more convenient...
10I love these!
11Never had one but sounds yum...
12Love Caipirinhas!! Did you know that Cachaça is not a rum? Unlike Rum, which is made from molasses, Cachaça is distilled from sugar cane juice. However, according to U.S. law, any spirit derived from sugar cane must be labeled as a rum (even though it's not) - in Cachaça's case, ‘Brazilian Rum.' As a result, Leblon has started a new movement -- every year on International Cachaça Day (June 12th) - Advocates will commemorate challenging the US Government to recognize Cachaça for what it is, instead of what it is not (rum).
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