Caipirinha
Tiki Oasis happened last weekend and I had the perfect cocktail all teed up and ready to bring you in honor of the grand event. But then life happened and somehow the post never went live. So, rather than toss it, I thought I’d share it with you this week. After all it’s still a great cocktail and one I’ve been wanting to make for awhile now… ever since I discovered the mojito.
While the mojito is considered a classic tiki cocktail thanks to the rum and mint, this drink it a little different. It’s still a tropical drink, but it’s not necessarily tiki because it doesn’t have an ounce of rum in it. Instead the cocktail is made with cachaça (pronounced ka-cha-sa) and it’s called a Caipirinha.
The Caipirinha (pronounced kai-peer-een-ya) is made with just three ingredients: cachaça, lime juice and sugar. Sounds a little like a mojito doesn’t it? The two cocktails are very similar, but one comes from Cuba while the other comes from Brazil. One is made with rum while the other is made with the aforementioned cachaça. It’s that Brazilian liquor that makes all the difference.
See, unlike rum, which comes from sugar cane that’s been turned into molasses, cachaça comes from straight sugar cane. Because there’s no extra processing, the cachaça has a much more herbal flavor, making the Caipirinha a more vegetal, earthy cocktail. A cocktail that’s quite refreshing on a hot day, and we all know there are plenty of hot days in Brazil.
Like a lot of classic cocktails, this one has a fuzzy history. We know that cachaça has been around since the mid-1500’s, and according to cocktail historian, David Wondrich, the Brazilians have been turning it into this classic cocktail since the late-1800’s. But the original drink was meant for those that worked in the fields, not the white collar crowd. Eventually this refreshing cocktail found its way into the upper class bars of Rio simply because it truly hit the spot. And let me tell you it definitely does.
While the Caipirina doesn’t have club soda (my favorite ingredient for hot weather cocktails) it’s still seriously refreshing. But like most drinks out there that use just one liquor, it’s all about the liquor you use. See, a tiki drink is made up of different kinds of rums to make it shine, which means you could use a top shelf rum, but you could just as easily use something more middle of the road. The Caipirinha on the other hand, shines best when it’s made with a smoother, slightly more top shelf cachaça. So, if you want to delight in this herbal concoction, make sure you buy a good cachaça. Trust me when I tell you it makes all the difference in the world. And if you pick a good one, you’ll be enjoying this drink all summer long. It may even become your summer drink of choice. It’s definitely at the top of my list.
Ingredients
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- 1-2 tablespoons fine sugar
- 2 ounces cachca
Instructions
- Place the limes and sugar in an old fashioned glass and muddle together. Add the the cachaca and some ice and stir until chilled. Garnish with a lime wheel and serve.
