Brazilian Drinks: Caipirinha Recipe

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The Brazilian people are known by being a happy and hospitable people. You don’t need much to get a Brazilian’s smile. A good soccer match and a sunny Sunday at the beach is already a good reason.

Now what makes the Brazilians really happy indeed is a good deal of “Caipirinha” prepared with whim.

What is “Caipirinha” and what is “Cachaça”?

Caipirinha is a Brazilian drink made with cachaça.  The cachaça, in turn, is a kind of Vodka or Rum made from fermented sugarcane. The cachaca’s flavor is very characteristic of Brazil. The cachaça is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in the country.

The major difference between cachaça and rum is that rum is usually made from molasses, a by-product from refineries that boil the cane juice to extract as much sugar crystal as possible, while cachaça is made from fresh sugarcane juice that is fermented and distilled.

All foreigners travelling in Brazil must try a good shot of Caipirinha, which is a Brazilian Cocktail made with cachaça. Outside Brazil, cachaça is used, almost exclusively, as an ingredient in tropical drinks. Caipirinha being the most famous Brazilian drink and is one of the main symbols of the Brazilian’s culture.

Cachaça is mostly produced in Brazil, and the distilled has plenty of synonyms. It is also known as “pinga“, “branquinha“, “aguardente”, “cana“, “água de beber“, “caninha” and many other names depending on region.

There are basically two kinds of cachaça, the handmade and the industrial.

Cachaça, as rum, has two varieties: unaged (white) and aged (gold). White cachaça is usually bottled immediately after distillation and tends to be cheaper. It is often used to prepare caipirinha, and the dark (gold) cachaça that usually is aged in wood barrels and is meant to be drunk straight. Its flavour is influenced by the type of wood the barrel is made from.

Photo by Tania Cataldo

How to prepare a good shot of “Caipirinha” with Brazilian “Cachaça”

Would you like to know a good caipirinha recipe? To prepare a caipirinha, the Brazilian famous drink, is as easy as a pie.

First you should have some caipirinha ingredients like a green lemon, 2 ounces of white cachaça, sugar to taste and ice cubes.

Since you are in Brazil will be easy to find out a good cachaca in any liquor store, supermarket, convenience store, bar or bakery. Cachaça’s brands? Some label sugestion: Velho Barreiro, Caninha 51, Cachaça Sagatiba, Cachaça Pitu and Cachaça Ypioca. Cachaça’s price? All of them are good and cheap. Don’t worry to buy an expensive one.

How to prepare: Wash and peel the green lemon. Then cut the lemon into quarters. With a knife, remove the white pith from the center (prevents you from being bitter or too acidic). Once this is done, squeeze two of the four parts of lime for the lemon juice and place in a caipirinha glass.

Place the other two remaining parts of the lemon in the same glass, without, however, squeeze them. Then place two tablespoons of sugar in the cup and the parts of “cachaça“. Take a pestle (we have a typical brazilian wooden tool created especially for this purpose) and stir everything inside the caipirinha glass. Finally, add the ice cubes. Cover the glass with the palm of your hand and shake.

Ready! Now, wear your bathing suit, your Havaianas (popular Brazilian flip-flops) and enjoy a sunny day at the beach.

Do you know?

The word caipirinha is the diminutive version of the word “caipira“, which refers to someone from the countryside, being an almost exact equivalent of the American English hillbilly.