Cachaçagora - Cachaça, Caipirinha, And Cocktails

LA Times on the Caipirinha

2009-11-04T22:29:23-06:00

The LA Times offers us a personal account of caipirinha discovery:

Now that Brazil is slated to become the first South American country to host the Olympics, maybe Americans will pay more attention to one of its finest exports: cachaça. Made from fermented sugar cane juice, the clear, fiery liquor puts the defining kick in Brazil's national cocktail, the caipirinha.

Read the rest. Writer Jessica Gelt does a good job of capturing the spirit and energy of Brazil, through the lens of its national cocktail:

Before my first night in Rio was over, I had ordered two more caipirinhas. Melting into the evening with each sip, I became increasingly aware of the bustling city streets around me. The smell of sea salt, tropical vegetation and roasted meat drifted through the damp air. Scruffy teenagers played guitar on a curb, couples danced by and vendors peddled black bean soup, candied nuts, boiled corn and plastic tubes filled with flavored cachaça.

AMOCI on Reina Das Gerais

2009-10-25T22:10:20-05:00

Tiare shares an interesting find, Reina Das Gerais, which she describes as an "artisanal cachaça distilled in alembic copper stills and aged in oak barrels for 5 years."

The texture is like velvet in your mouth. The finish is sugarcane and a hint of earth and oak. Actually a sip of this floods you with pleasant flavours. Its very very smooth but does still have a bit of fiery kick, perfect.

Oh my luck! i have a rare premium Cachaça here!

One thing that Tiare has picked up on is the vast variety of cachaças out there. When I have guests over, they're often surprised as to the very different flavor profiles that each of them have, sometimes with few threads of commonality between them.

The more cachaças i try the more surprised i get as to how varied they are. So then to think that there's about 5000 brands or more in Brazil its kinda mind boggling. I really would like to see more of them being exported. I`m especially interested in the artisanal cachaças, and i think artisanal is the way to go.

Looks like yet another one I'll have to try to track down...

Because All The Good Names Are Taken, Even In Portuguese

2009-10-24T20:05:10-05:00

They say that some cultures have a lot of names and shades-of-meaning for the things that matter most to them. Many of us have heard the legend (largely bunk) that Eskimos have dozens of different words for "snow", for example.

Suitably, then, the Brazilians have more than a word or two for "butt" — popozão, traseiro, bum-bum, bunda, pandeiro...

(Then again, in the U.S., we have butt, ass, can, rump, heinie, fanny, tush...)

When I was visiting in 2008, "Mulher Melancia" ("Watermelon Woman" née Andressa Soares) had apparently taken the country by storm, really for no other reason than a prodigious posterior.

(Perhaps not unlike our own J. Lo, Vida Guerra, Kim Kardashian...)

Anyway... Today, I learn about Cachaça Na Bunda. Basically, "cachaça in the butt" made from cana grossa ("fat cane").

"Baby got bagaço?"

Cachaça Tour (Pt. 5 of 6): Barril 39

2009-10-19T21:06:38-05:00

Here we have a very special installment of my 2009 Cachaça Tour documentary — a trip to Barril 39. Some of you may remember Barril 39 as the winner of the first blind taste test I held a little more than a year ago.

This tiny operation, passed from late father to son, is undergoing a period of transformation and renewal. The horse-powered cane-crusher atop the hill will be replaced by a modern electric one. New structures have been erected to handle each step of the cachaça-making value chain — crushing, fermenting, aging, bottling — whereas a very small room handled most of these tasks before. Further, each building stands lower on the hill than the next, making gravity do some of work for the small distillery.

All of this said, the old setup is a wonder of homespun ergonomic ingenuity. Proprietor Sérgio Azevedo's father originally arranged everything such that he could run almost all of the operation from his wheelchair. The fermentation tanks, for example, are smaller than usual and raised well above the floor, connected by a network of pipes and valves set within easy reach.

Of greatest interest is the product I have yet to taste: Sergio sent me home with a bottle of Barril 39's one-thousandth distillation, carrying the old "Terras Altas" label, from which only a few liters exist.

No, you can't have any. However, please enjoy the video and the slideshow.

Video

Slideshow

'Cause You Gotta Have A Hobby

2009-10-11T15:40:54-05:00

My interest in cachaça over the past year-and-a-quarter has yielded quite a collection, so much so that my wife has suggested I buy a cabinet for it all. A quick trip to IKEA and here we are:

Generally speaking, the aged cachaças are on the left, the white ones kept on the right along with the flasks and literally dozens of airport-sized bottles.

However, the pictures don't even tell half the story. Here are some prized components of this collection:

A special gift from the folks at Barril 39 — a rare bottle of their 1,000th distillation, back when they were known as Terras Altas. (Look for the Barril 39 feature in Part Five of my documentary.)
One-and-one-eighth bottles of Maxi Cana's Gabriela. Gabriela is a lightly syrupy cachaça-based aperitif with rich flavors of clove and cinnamon.
The most well-traveled cachaca in all of my collection, Saturno; it went from Brazil, to Australia (home of their importer) before eventually making it to Chicago.
Two tiny sample bottles of Abelha Gold and Silver, delivered to my old apartment by friends of Abelha founder Anthony Goh who happened to be in Chicago.
My first "Azulada" — cachaça distilled with tangerine tree leaves — courtesy of Coqueiro, the subject of Part One of my documentary.

Enjoying some Monte Alvão as I write this.

More Rio 2016 Caipirinhas, This Time with Calamansi

2009-10-08T22:21:55-05:00

What is a calamansi, you ask?

Well, it's a hybrid citrus fruit that plays a role in Filipino cuisine.

Budopankan has more:

Calamasi’s taste in between a kumquat and a tangerine. They are very sour with a subtle sweetness, so they this drink has a good balance between sour and sweet without having any hint of syrupyness.

Bring this southeast Asian fruit together with our favorite cocktail in honor of Rio 2016, and you have some interesting trans-continental flavor potential.

Thing is, this recipe is more than just a little a bit watered down for my tastes (four ounces of water and an optional half-teaspoon of cachaça, for chrissakes?), however, I give bonus points to anyone who introduces me to new and unusual ingredients. If you can get your hands on calamansi, I'd definitely encourage of-age readers to try a more "leaded" version.

Again, courtesy of Budopankan:

Calamansi Caipirinha

4 ounces water

leaves from 1 sprig of mint

2 tsp. f granulated sugar

1/2 to 1 tsp. cachaça (optional)

3 tsp. calamansi juice

2 small ice cubes

Squeeze the calamasi juice into a small glass, then add the granulated sugar and mint leaves. Using a spoon mash the mint leaves into the sugar. This wil also help the sugar dissolve. Add the shot of cachaça, then the ice cubes. Next fill the glass with water and stir. Serve immediately.

Cachaça Tour (Pt. 4 of 6): Cachaçaria Vilarejo

2009-10-07T08:19:10-05:00

It's helpful to think of this part of the cachaça tour as a bit of an intermission. Why? Well, you'll find out in the video.

Vilarejo cachaça was the first one served to me by my in-laws upon arrival in Brazil this time around. I was impressed.

What's been interesting to observe is how various distilleries make use of the bagaço ("bagasse" in English), which is the fibrous waste product that's left over from crushing the cane. Vilarejo uses it as fuel to heat the alembique. Maria Izabel turns it into fertilizer for the cane fields. Magnífica (coming in part six) burns it to fire their steam engine.

As for the rest, see the video and the slideshow.

Video

Photos

Leblon Has A Rio 2016 Cocktail, Plus Consolation Caipirinhas

2009-10-05T21:15:51-05:00

Photo Credit: Leblon

Leblon is celebrating Rio's 2016 Olympic win with a green-yellow-and-blue take on the classic caipirinha — a lemon-lime version. Was hoping that it was an homage to the color scheme of this site but... yeah... they're probably using the Brazilian flag for inspiration.

Lemon Lime Caipirinha

2 oz Leblon Cachaça

3 Lime Wheels

3 Lemon Wheels

6 Blueberries

2 Teaspoons of Superfine Sugar (Or 1 oz. Simple Syrup)

Cut lime into (3) 1/8" wheels and cut lemon into (3) 1/8" wheels and place into shaker. Add 2 teaspoons of superfine sugar, or 1 oz of simple syrup. Muddle fruit in shaker for 10-15 seconds, extracting juice from lemon and lime wheels. Add Leblon Cachaça. Fill rocks glass to the top with crushed ice. Add 6 blueberries. Shake or stir, mixingthoroughly. Garnish with lemon, lime, and blueberry combination.

But wait... There's more!

Leblon has developed other caipirinha variations — one for each remaining candidate city.

Most intriguing are the versions for Tokyo (using sake and lychee puree and Spain (with chili and cilantro).

Check out the latest edition of Leblon's newsletter for the recipes.

Cabana Celebrates Rio's 2016 Olympics Win with the "Rio 16"

2009-10-03T22:48:42-05:00

The IOC members in Copenhagen weren't yet finished laughing at our 2016 Olympic bid by the time Cabana Cachaça had cocktail at the ready to celebrate Rio's win.

Rio 16

1oz Cabana Cachaça

1oz VeeV açai-based spirit

1oz Simple Syrup

1oz Kiwi Puree

The juice of 2 lime wedges

Combine all ingredients and serve over ice in a rocks glass

Now... What I really want to know is whether 1) they had a recipe at the ready for each of the four candidate cities, and 2) I can get my hands on those recipes!

Update On Cuca Fresca's Mixology Contest

2009-09-23T21:26:24-05:00

Camper English points us to the Cuca Fresca mixology contest, Shake Your Way To Brazil, which launched in July. Recipes are up and voting is open.

There are plenty of intruiging recipes up on the contest site now. A carrot-juice-based cocktail from Todd Appel of Chicago's Hotel Sax caught Camper's interest, but I gave my vote to Corey Bunnewith's Brazilian Autumn:

Brazilian Autumn

2 oz Cuca Fresca Premium Cachaça

.5 oz Lime Juice

.25 oz Domaine de Canton

.25 oz Honey

3 Shiso Leaves

Dash Angostura Bitters

Shake over ice. Double strain into a coupe. Grate nutmeg over the top for garnish.

Why? A couple of reasons:

I've been experimenting with Domaine de Canton for a while here at the Gomecile.
Honey and nutmeg have been favorite cocktail ingredients of mine for a while now.

Public voting ends on Halloween. Cuca Fresca will announce the judges' and People's Choice awards on Nov. 1.