Classic Cocktail of the Week: Cachaça

Hello and welcome to my first "of the week" feature. I've decided to highlight one cocktail, wine and beer each week, but this all hinges on how much I've had to drink of said beverage before writing. Expect numerous spelling mistakes and poorly punctuated run on sentences.

Tonight, I have revisited the wonderful land of Brazil and their national drink of choice: Cachaça. Particularly, in the classic cocktail, the Caipirinha.

Caipirinha are easier to make than to pronounce. I hope I don't offend my Brazilian friend by saying it is pronounced like, Ky-fe-reen-ya. However you say it, it's the most deliciously refreshing drink ever! All you need is a good Brazilian Cachaça like 51 (around $20 in many liquor stores), a muddler, fresh limes and some fine or quick dissolve sugar. Raw or Demara sugar can work too. Here's how you make it:

Slice a whole lime in half and place it into 4-8 oz. lowball glass.
Add 2 teaspoons of quick dissolve sugar and muddle until the lime is juiced and the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour in 2 oz. of Cachaça.
Give it a a quick shake in a Boston shaker or give it a good stir.
Then sip and enjoy!

The sweet, sour and slightly smoky combination is a margarita lovers dream. I think many gin and tonic fans may enjoy the Cipirinha too.

If you've been to Brazil and didn't have Caipirinha or some other Cachaça based cocktail, you didn't really experience Brazil. During Carnival, you practically live on Cachaça for 4 nights. The beauty part about Cachaça is that hangovers are rare if you stick to the popular Caipirinha. Must be all the vitamin C in the lime juice. I can personally attest to drinking quite a bit of Cachaça at my friends wedding reception and feeling fine the next day. My friend and his Brazilian wife were over this evening for a cookout and we had a few cold shots of Cachaça with our beers and I'm feeling fine after 4 shots. I never feel fine after 4 shots of anything! Have I mentioned my puke queen status?

Speaking of 4 shots, I'm about ready to sleep it off so I'll wrap it up.

So the next time you're in a Brazilian restaurant like Fogo De Chao, or a hip cocktail joint, order a Caipirinha. Or check you local liquor store for Cachaça and make one yourself. You may be able to find minis of some Cachaça brands so you can try it before you drop 20 bucks or more on a fifth of something you don't like.

Either way, keep your eye out for Cachaça and give it a shot, or 2 or 4. It goes down easy and tends to be easier on you than a night of Jager-bombs.

Felicidades!