MIXOLOGY

Caipirinha

BY ANTHONY DIAS BLUE

When I first went to Brazil nearly 10 years ago, I got hooked on the local cocktail called the Caipirinha—a deliriously drinkable concoction of cachaça, lime, and sugar. After a week on the beach in Rio, I jetted back to the States, sun-tanned and humming “The Girl from Ipanema,” eager to show my sophistication by ordering this (at the time) obscure libation at my local watering hole. Alas, I was ahead of the curve; my savvy bartender knew the drink, but unfortunately there was not a drop of cachaça to be had in the establishment’s vast store of spirits.

“Weed Cutters”

When Europeans first arrived in Brazil and began hacking down the Amazon forest to make settlements, the local indigenous people referred to the newcomers with the contemptuous term caipira—“weed cutter.” The Portuguese adopted the word, adding a diminutive suffix to create the Portuguese word for “country bumpkin” or “hillbilly”: caipirinha. The use of this word for the cocktail reflects its simple, rustic origins.

Oh, how things change. Today, the Caipirinha is one of the hottest cocktails in the repertoire of mixologists from Paris to midtown Manhattan, and no bar worth its neon martini glass would be caught without at least a couple brands of cachaça on display. And today’s versions are going decidedly upscale, although Brazilian standby brands such as “51” are available, as well. A traditional Caipirinha is made with unaged cachaça, and some experts would say the cheaper, the better. In fact, there’s an old saying in Brazil: “Quanto pior a cachaca, melhor a caipirinha,” which means, “The worse the cachaça, the better the Caipirinha.”

Regardless of the type of cachaça used, the Caipirinha captures the verve and essence of Brazil’s laissez-faire lifestyle as surely as does the bossa nova of Tom Jobim. Its fuel, cachaça, is Brazil’s national spirit. This close relative of rum is made directly from freshly-pressed sugarcane rather than from molasses, a by-product of the sugar processing industry. Its grassy, herbal aromas and flavors give the Caipirinha a fresh—and refreshing—character.

With several dozen labels now on the market, cachaça is much easier to find these days than it was just a few years ago. Some brands come packaged with a wooden (or plastic) muddler, used to crush the fresh lime that is the key to a properly-made Caipirinha. Don’t over-muddle: crush the lime wedges just enough to release the juice without crushing the bitter white pith. The only other ingredients are sugar, added to taste, and ice. Like its sibling rum drink, the Daiquiri, the Caipirinha is very easy to make and even easier to enjoy.

How to Make a Caipirinha:

1 fresh lime (key limes, if available)
2 1/2 ounces cachaça
2 teaspoons sugar (more or less, to taste)
1 scoop crushed ice

Cut the lime into several wedges and place in a short, wide-mouthed cocktail glass, pulp side up. Sprinkle with sugar and use a wooden spoon or muddler to crush them gently, releasing the juice but avoiding the bitter pith
and skin. Add the cachaça and top the glass with ice. Stir vigorously. Serve with a straw and a lime wedge garnish.

“Brazilian Rum”

Lacking a unique category for cachaça, current U.S. regulations stipulate that all imported cachaça be labeled “Brazilian rum,” although the word “cachaça” can still appear on the label. This situation, which makes about as much sense as calling bourbon “American Scotch,” is likely to change as this scintillating spirit becomes more and more familiar to Americans.

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