Caipirinha
INGREDIENTS
- 4 or 5 lime wedges
- 2 teaspoons sugar or turbinado sugar
- 2 oz cachaça
INSTRUCTIONS
Muddle the sugar and lime wedges together in an old-fashioned glass until the sugar is dissolved and the lime juice is released. Fill the glass with ice and pour in the cachaça. Stir briefly.
VARIATIONS: Add a few pieces of fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries, to muddle with the lime wedges.
HERE ARE A FEW NEW FAVORITE CACHAÇA COCKTAILS FROM BRAZILIAN HOT SPOTS:
Spiced Mandarin Caipirinha: Muddle fresh lime and mandarin, cinna- mon and sugar, fill with ice, and stir in aged cachaça and Mandarine Napoléon liqueur.
Caipitetra: Made with orange juice, honey, mint, and cachaça.
Granada Brasileira: Made with passion fruit juice, cream, sugar, and cachaça.
Caipirissima: Made with rum instead of cachaça.
VIDEO HOW-TO
NOTES
The name of this Brazilian classic loosely translates as "country bumpkin" or "little peasant girl," referring to its "uncivilized" preparation in the same glass from which it will be sipped. As you muddle the limes against the granulated sugar in the bottom of the heavy glass, the fragrant oils from the crushed lime peels are released. Traditionally made with cachaça, the fiery Brazilian spirit with the reputation of actually powering up a Ford Fairlane, this drink has a distinctive bite.
