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Paulo Freitas

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Everything posted by Paulo Freitas

  1. OK, as a Brazilian, there are a few points that I have to address. First of all, a cocktail can only be as good as it's worst ingredient. The better the cachaça the better the caipirinha, as long as you use one that's not been aged or aged for a short time. The vanilla and warm spice notes from the wood of a well aged cachaça don't go well with the lime oils from the muddled peels in a capirinha. By law, "Cachaça 51" is not even cachaça, it's aguardente (like aguardiente or everclear for the Americans reading this). So don't waste your time comparing something to it. Same goes to the likes of "Velho Barreiro" and even "Sagatiba" Try to get hold of a bottle of Avuá, Leblon or Yaguara, than you tell me how a good white cachaça makes all the difference in a caipirinha. Cheers
  2. Yes, you nailed it right Dan, I used the Fernet for its minty properties to make this apparently train wreck work. Its a riff on the Martinez, where the Cynar works as the Red Vermouth and the lychee liqueuer as the Marasquino. I made it thinking about mother-in-laws and theirs sweet/bitter dualities. The lychee comes as subtle perfume, in the best possible way. It's my creation and you can feel free to add it to Kindred Cocktails if you want.
  3. Recipe for the cocktail that won the Brazilian qualifying for the DIAGEO World Class 2012. Choke Me Softly 50ml Tanqueray nº10 (7/4oz) 50ml Cynar (7/4oz) 5ml Soho Lychee Liqueur (1/4oz) 2 dashes Fernet (from an Angostura bottle) Stir & Strain in a coupe glass, garnish with a grapefuit zest and a rose petal.
  4. Dave Arnold (of the Cooking Issues blog and the French Culinary Institute) has researched this matter extensively an made two seminars in the Tales of the Cocktail about it called "The Science of Shaking" and "The Science of Stirring". Worth reading, but the core message is: "There is no chilling without dilution. There is no dilution without chilling" Cocktails: The Science of Shaking Tales of The Cocktail: Science of Shaking II Cocktail Science in General: Part 1 of 2 Cocktail Science in General: Part 2 of 2
  5. Just ordere a copy too! BTW, you guys complaining about paying $8 dollars for shipping? I had to pay $30 to make sure it arrives here in Brazil
  6. Usually for me is an Old Fashioned, just the spirit I'm more inclined to sip any given time with some sugar and some Bookers Bitters. Gonna do one now with some brandy btw. Cheers!
  7. I don't like it (really, I'm serious), but I might be responsible for resurrecting a monster here in Rio Does anyone remember those?
  8. First of all I feel honored that a post of mine got answered by Mr. Wondrich, what a great way to start a day I thought so, and if it's true, down to its definition, muscovado should be a synonymous to piloncillo too. As far as I understand the key point is that it doesn't pass through a centrifuge.
  9. So, I always thought that what we had here labeled as "açucar mascavo" was raw sugar, but in fact its piloncillo Another diferent sugar product that we have here is rapadura (also known as papellón or panela in the rest of Latin America), kind of a brick of sugar. So, if I come up with a recipe that calls for raw sugar, what would be best to replace with? demerara or piloncillo?
  10. Usually no pleasure can come from a package that states "pleasure" on it I know you mentioned no buying another bottle, steven, but if u could get hold of some campary and some cranberry juice you would have a tasty drink. What I would recommend, fiddling a little with the recipe to acomodate the rose's something like this: 1.5oz tequila 1/2oz grenadine 1/4oz Campary 1/2oz Rose's 2oz Cranberry Juice I think even a dash of tabasco would go well in this, but completely optional
  11. Here in the hotel we have a Daikiri/Sidecar variation called Raul Roulian 2oz Cachaça 1/2oz Cointreau 3/4oz Lemon Juice 2 barspoons Raw Sugar Shaken and Strained in a cocktail glass You could start with experimenting with some aged rum cocktails and adjusting the ratios of the sour/sweet ingredients slightly, as cachaça is sweeter than rum
  12. It may sound dumb... but **ANY** Rye whiskey... nowhere to find in Brazil
  13. It depends on what label that Santo Grau you have, there are two. They don't make the cachaça, they just buy what they think it's the best batch from selected producers to bottle and sell it. The label "Coronel Xavier Chaves" is made in Minas Gerais by the Engenho Boa Vista, the oldest producer of cachaça in the state. The master distiller is Rubens Resende Chaves and their own label is "Século XVIII" (because they make cachaça since the 1700's). This cachaça isn't influenced by wood, since it rests for 6 months in underground stone tanks, giving it a neutrality ideal for cocktail making. Here is a that shows a little bit of the farm were the sugar cane is harvested and the cachaça is made in the beginning and an interview with Rubens. In this other the interview continues but there's a lot of footage of the production taking place and more footage od the farm at the end.The label "Paraty" is made here in Rio, in the state city of Paraty in the Engenho D’Água of the Fazenda Cabral. Their own label is Coqueiro, made by the master distiller Eduardo Mello. The cachaça is rested in oak and amendoim (Pterogyne nitens) between 12 and 24 months. I had the pleasure to visit this still and meet Eduardo, a humble young lad in his early 30's, but with a vast knowledge about the making of cachaça. The fourth generations of the family making cachaça he is responsible for introducing technology to the process to optimize the production without compromising the artisan touch of small batch distilling. Hope I helped a bit, my english is a little rusty
  14. It's made here in Rio de Janeiro, but unfortunately its plant is located in one of the regions that got most affected by the recent floods that hit the state. It's made in the Fazenda Soledade by the master distiller Vicente Bastos Ribeiro and is Diageo that owns the brand, but fortunately it's still made the same way. Right now they the original Nega Fulo and two other labels, one aged in Ipê barrels and other aged in Jequitibá barrels, both indigenous trees of Brazil. They are blends of aged cachaças with bi-distiled cachaças rested in stainless steel barrels.
  15. This Weber Haus cachaça come from a region that never were a big producer of sugar cane, not even in the time that Brazil was a colony and it's economy depended on the sugar. Also, i can't manage to consider buying a cachaça with a german name. The sagatiba hype has faded, it's difficult to find a Brazilian bartender that recognizes sagatiba as a cachaça. If you accepts that Ciroc isn't a grappa but as a vodka made from grapes, sagatiba isn't a cachaça but a vodka made from sugar cane I think your best bet is to stick with Leblon.
  16. Paul Clark's Column about cocktails in Serious Eats Paul Clark's Blog Camper English's Blog LA Times Magazine - Look for Camper English writtings Jason Wilson's Collumns in the Washington Post Gary Regan's Column on The SF Gate Will look for others one latter **Edited to fix some links***
  17. Thanks for all the help guys! The dinner is about to start and this is the menu: Poached Pear and Brie Bruschetta http://www.suite101.com/content/bruschetta-and-beyond-a65498 Ratatouille with Penne http://www.kqed.org/w/morefastfoodmyway/episode225.html Fried Cauliflower with Tahini http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/17/fried-cauliflower-tahini-recipe-ottolenghi Butter Pecan Ice Cream with Apple Maple Topping As you can see from my signature I'm more familiar with the liquid part of the kitchen, but I think and handled my job pretty well Fingers crossed Merry Christmas
  18. Actually, I'm the one that is late! Thanks for all the fast replies. Just so you guys understand better, she decided to go vegetarian for an ideological reason, but I'm quite sure she didn't realized all the difference between vegetarian, vegan, etc yet (it was like 3 days ago that she "became" veg and I want to back her up, even being a meat lover myself ). Also we are from Brazil, witch makes our Christmas dinner much more like the Thanksgiving feast from our North American friends, and making it a summer menu. Too many things to do and so little time Thanks for all the help guys, Merry Christmas to all
  19. First of all, happy holidays for every one. My room mate, a good friend of mine, realized that she wants to be vegetarian, 2 days before Christmas, now I have to come with a menu for our Christmas dinner but don't have a clue where yo start. Any help would be appreciated
  20. I think Sam is the one best suited to explain this, but as far as I know, when you add water, it breaks the bounds between the aroma molecules and the ethanol molecules, thus releasing the pleasant smells for our olfactory pleasure
  21. Ok, a brazilian point of view here First of all, Sagatiba is not a chachaça, it's kind of a vodka in fact... It doesn't taste like cachaça and it doesn't smell like cachaça. Real cachaça is NOT multi-distilled. no one uses it anymore over here, really overpriced Pitu, 51 and Ypioca are the worst brands sold over here, they can compare to the $5 dollar vodkas that you can find in grocery stores over there. Producers have been experiment with diferent woods for the ageing process. The same brand could have diferent versions depending solely on the wood used in the cask. I don't which cachaças are avaiable in your area, and some of them are produced exclusivelly for export, so we don't come across them here in Brazil, but one that I can recommend is the Leblon Cachaça, aged in cognac casks
  22. Tequila is by far my favorite spirit!! I've been messing around with a new recipe but i think it's good enough for now. No name for it yet though 1 1/2 oz Don Julio Blanco 3/4 Cranberry Juice 1/2 Lime Juice 1 tspn Campari 2 tspn Homemade Grenadine Shake and strain in a chilled cocktail glass
  23. I'm glad to anounce that I am the first happy owner of the Boker's Bitters in South America, more precisely in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and it can be found on the Copacabana Palace Hotel bar. Some pics to come!! Keep up the excelent work Adam
  24. A was tinkering with it some time ago Aged Rum (used Havana Club 7 años) Demerara sugar Cloves Thin slice of Ají pepper Set it alight to make the flame infuse the spices into the rum and caramelize the sugar. Serve it hot
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