Keeping a fully-stocked bar cart is one way to ensure hosting success, but there's only so much you can do with the typical, traditional liquors. If you’re looking to make home bartending a more exciting endeavor this year, look beyond the the vodka, tequila, and whiskey, and try out some new, more global creations.
Cachaça, made of sugarcane and beloved in Brazil, is the spirit to start with. Plus, it‘s the main ingredient you need for concocting a simple and delicious Caipirinha cocktail, a refreshing sip that's also Brazil's national cocktail.
Cachaça (pronounced kah-SHAH-sah) is a distilled spirit that’s made from fermented, freshly-pressed sugarcane juice, exclusively in Brazil. One of Latin America’s first distilled beverages, it has a long history and is often misclassified as a type of rum.
You can find the spirit in two different varieties: branca or amarela. Branca (white) cachaça—also called tradicional (traditional), clássica (classic), or prata (silver)—is unaged and lighter in color. Amarela (yellow) cachaça—also called ouro (gold) or envelhecida (aged)—is stored for at least one year before serving. Either way, the liquor has about 38-40% alcohol by volume, depending on the recipe used, making it similar to spirits like tequila or vodka in strength.
Regularly sipped on its own, straight or on the rocks, it's most often used to make the Caipirinha—but the spirit’s flavor profile blends seamlessly with a number of other delicious drinks. Cachaça can now be found quite easily in the United States, with different variations found in liquor stores across the country—it might just be time to pick up a bottle.
What Does Cachaça Taste Like?
Although this spirit is often compared to rum, the flavor profile is quite different. Since cachaça is fermented from sugarcane plants, the liquor carries earthy, grassy, or (when aged) spicy or fruity flavors. Though not quite as sugary as you’d expect (as it's made from sugarcane and all) the spirit can also carry a subtly-sweet flavor.
“I think cachaça, when it's well made, is one of the most interesting spirits in the world,” drinks historian Dave Wondrich told Eater. “Proper artisanal cachaças are rich, full-bodied spirits that also have a great deal of subtlety and even grace.”
Peter Nevenglosy, CEO and co-founder of Avuá Cachaça, told Martha Stewart that a Brazilian cachaça tradition he loves is called tabelinha—a soccer term that doubles as a way to describe alternating sips between cachaça neat and a beer. But if sipping the spirit neat or knocking back a shot isn’t your thing, the Caipirinha cocktail is a guaranteed crowdpleaser.
How to Make a Caipirinha Cocktail
The recipe for a Caipirinha cocktail is very simple, which is one of the reasons that it’s so widely regarded. All you need is limes, sugar, ice, and, of course, cachaça—the star of the show.
Quarter a lime, and place the wedges at the bottom of your glass. Then add 2 teaspoons (or less, to taste) of fine sugar and muddle the mixture, making sure to blend the lime juice and sugar together. Fill your glass with ice, and top it off with 2 ounces of cachaça—and there you have it.
Those familiar with this cocktail sometimes affectionately refer to it as a Brazilian lemonade, which makes total sense once you try it. If you want to give it a go, pick up cachaça the next time you visit a liquor store—your home cocktail bar will automatically look like a pro's.