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Happy Hour: Caipirinha

YumSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:00:30 -0800

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.

Caipirinha
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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Definition: Cachaça

partysugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:58:19 -0700

Cachaça, pronounced, ka-cha-saw
The national liquor of Brazil. Both rum and cachaça are made from the sugar cane plant - rum is made from distilled molasses while cachaça is made from pure, fermented sugar cane juice. With origins that date back to Portuguese settlers in the 1600s, the liquor became a symbol of Brazil in the 1920s. It ranges in age and colors, similar to a tequila, and is sipped on the rocks all throughout Brazil.

Happy Hour: Caipirinha

partysugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 13:12:33 -0700

A caipirinha (pronounced kai - preen - ya) is the national cocktail of Brazil, made with the national liquor Cachaça. Within the last ten years, caipirinha's popularity has grown tremendously thanks to the International Bartender Association's addition of it to their official cocktail list. Although it's not common in the majority of bars, there are a growing number of establishments where caipirinhas appear on the menu. The ingredients and drink making technique are similar to that of a mojito. To learn how it's made, read more.

Caipirinha
From Drink of the Week

2 oz. Cachaça
1 Lime
1 tsp. Sugar

Cut the lime into 8 wedges and put in a rocks or old-fashioned glass.
Add sugar. Muddle the lime and sugar together until they are well mixed.
Fill the glass with crushed ice.
Add Cachaca. Stir.
Garnish with a lime wedge.

Serves 1.

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The Ultimate Bar: Muddler

partysugar — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 11:53:12 -0700

With spring break narrowing in on us, (woo-hoo! even though I'm not in school anymore I celebrate spring break each year by spending a long weekend away), it's the appropriate time to stock up on a bar tool that you will use a lot once the warm weather hits hard. A muddler is essential to making juicy, refreshing mojitos and caipirinhas. Sure you could substitute a long wooden spoon, but I find nothing crushes a lime and releases the essence of mint as well as a muddler. The handy, crushing one I have at home is this simple beachwood muddler. It's $5.00, a pretty reasonable price considering all of the use you'll get out of it and I get double the use out of mine by using it as a pestle to crush herbs and spices. I prefer wood over any other material because it's easy to clean and will last forever. However if you want something a little more fancy, check out these options and read more

This more pricy-$21.00-stainless steel muddler is specially designed to easily and quickly release citrus juice and the skins natural oils. The bright green head is crafted to hold the fruit in place and its extra long (10 inch) handle makes it perfect for mixing drinks in tall, slim glasses.

For the style conscious homemaker, may I suggest the fashionable silicon, stainless steel elongated muddler? It's $15.00 and will stand a lifetime of drink making so muddle away!

Happy Hour: Blackberry and Cabernet Caipirinha

partysugar — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:00:12 -0700

After being inspired by San Francisco Cocktail Week, I've decided that this Summer, I'm going to experiment with different spirits and mixers. First up is the Brazilian sugarcane rum known as cachaça. The caipirinha is the classic cocktail that features cachaça. Normally it consists of muddled lime and sugar, but this recipe takes a sangria-like approach to the drink and combines the potent rum with red wine, fresh citrus juice, and smashed blackberries.

The final concoction is punchy, flavorful, and wildly fruity. Be careful though: while this caipirinha is perfect for sipping on a warm afternoon, it's a deceptively potent cocktail. Enjoy one too many and you may end up passed out on the couch. The straightforward recipe is ideal for a party because it's easy to double (or triple as I did) the batch. It requires at least one hour of chill time, so mix it well before your event begins. Check out the recipe and read more.

Blackberry and Cabernet Caipirinha
From Duggan McDonnell of Cantina

Ingredients

24 blackberries
4 ounces simple syrup
12 ounces cachaça (potent Brazilian sugarcane spirit)
4 ounces Cabernet Sauvignon
8 ounces fresh orange juice
2 ounces fresh lime juice
Ice
6 lime wheels and 6 orange wheels

Directions

In a pitcher, muddle 12 of the blackberries with the simple syrup.
Add the cachaça, Cabernet, and the orange and lime juices and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
Stir well and strain the drink into ice-filled white wine glasses. Garnish with the remaining 12 blackberries and the lime and orange wheels.

Makes 6 drinks.

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Blackberry and Cabernet Caipirinha

partysugar — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:32:53 -0700

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Água Luca Caipirinha

YumSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:46:28 -0800

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Happy Hour: Basil Sangria

partysugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:00:50 -0700

From wine spritzers to cabernet caipirinhas, this Summer, I've been all about sipping wine-based cocktails. The one I'm most infatuated with is sangria. I've experimented with tropical fruit sangria and floral liquor sangria. However, before I made this version, I had never enjoyed a sangria with fresh herbs. The star of this sangria is basil. It infuses the wine with an aromatic earthiness. Fresh-squeezed orange juice further flavors the sangria and club soda provides a subtle effervescence. To enjoy this refreshing drink, that's perfect for sipping on the deck, get the recipe and read more.

Basil Sangria
From Food & Wine

I was unable to find Thai-basil at my grocery store, so I simply used regular basil.

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
8 Thai basil sprigs
Zest of 1 lemon, peeled in 3-inch strips
Zest of 1 orange, peeled in 3-inch strips
2 bottles chilled Pinot Grigio
3/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup fresh orange juice, strained
Ice
Chilled club soda
12 thin orange slices, for garnish

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the basil sprigs and lemon and orange zests. Let the syrup stand, stirring often, until cooled to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Discard the basil sprigs and zest strips.
In a large pitcher, combine the basil syrup with the wine, brandy and orange juice.
Pour the sangria into ice-filled glasses, top with club soda and garnish each drink with an orange slice.

Serves 12.

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Come Party With Me: End of Summer BBQ - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:50:20 -0700

From kalimotxo to caipirinhas to sangria, I've made a lot of interesting cocktails this Summer. One I haven't enjoyed, yet, I plan on serving them at my End of Summer barbecue, is the dark and stormy.

A refreshing mixture of rich, dark rum, and fizzy, slightly spicy ginger beer, the dark and stormy is a classic cocktail. Don't be fooled by the ginger beer, it's actually not beer, but a nonalcoholic, super-flavorful, incredibly fizzy ginger ale that can be found at Whole Foods.

I'll also have chilled wine, beer, and sodas for those who choose to imbibe something other than rum. To check out the recipe for the dark and stormy, read more.

Dark and Stormy
From Food Network

Ingredients

Ice cubes
1 to 2 juicy limes (you need 1-ounce juice and a wheel for garnish)
1 ounce golden rum,(recommended: Mt Gay)
6 ounces ginger beer
1/2 ounce dark rum, (recommended: Myers's)

Directions

Fill a highball glass or large wine goblet with ice cubes.
Add the lime juice and the golden rum. Top off with the ginger beer and stir lightly.
Float a layer of the dark rum on top by pouring it over the back of a wide, flat spoon. (Don't worry if it doesn't float; it tastes great either way.) Garnish with the lime wheel. Drink.

Makes 1 drink.

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Do You Know What's Cooking This Week?

YumSugar — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:30:45 -0700

Wasn't it March just yesterday? We blinked and suddenly we are sharing our favorite Summer recipes and our June must haves with you. We also got into the spirit with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, a seasonal fruit caipirinha, and a brew ideal for Father's Day.

Did you have your finger on the pulse of it all? Take the quiz to find out.

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