The little peasant girl
Literally, the term caipirinha means "little peasant girl" in Portuguese. This preparation created by Brazilian peasants from cachaça has today become the national cocktail of the largest nation in South America, an absolute must-try for a little taste trip to the land of samba.
Did you say cachaça?
An essential component of caipirinha, cachaça is Brazil's iconic alcoholic beverage. Contrary to what many people believe, cachaça is not a variety of agricultural rum, but rather a particular type of brandy.
Their common point is the pure cane juice that is used to make it. The distillation process then differs since cachaça is distilled at a low degree, with a titration of 40°, to be immediately bottled at the exit of the still. Agricultural rum is most often distilled until reaching a titration of around 70°, then reduced with spring water to 50° or 55° for white rum, or put in barrels to make old rum.
Although cachaça is produced in Brazil at more than a billion liters per year, only 1% of the volume is exported.
The secrets of a successful caipirinha
Caipirinha is a short drink that is usually prepared in a rocks glass. To prepare it, you will need:
- 4 cl of cachaça
- 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar, preferably brown to bring out the flavors of the sugar cane
- 1 small lime
- 4 ice cubes, crushed or not
Start by cutting the lemon into four after removing the ends and seeds, then dip the segments into the glass (if the lemon is large, half will be enough). Add the sugar and crush until the juice is extracted. Don't go too hard with the pestle or your cocktail will be bitter. Then add the ice and finish with the cachaça before mixing gently.
Be aware that each distillery offers a cachaça with particular aromas that give all their character to the preparation. For a very aromatic cocktail, opt for a cachaça aged in barrels, such as the Abelha Gold Organic or the Thoquino aged for two years.
According to Brazilian tradition, the ice cubes are not crushed for the caipirinha and are drunk through a straw.
Caipifrutas: fruity variations of the caipirinha
By replacing the lime with other fruits, we obtain caipifrutas, also very popular in Brazil. Among the most used fruits, we can mention: maracuja (passion fruit), amoras (blackberries), morango (strawberry), abacaxi (pineapple)
Olivier, from the Rhum Attitude team