The Caipirinha

[Lawrence]

Caipirinha Especial

Recipe by:Lawrence C Spies, Based on Caipirinha recipe found at http://www.caipirinha.us/news/Cocktails.asp

1.5 oz Cachaça Fazenda Mãe de Ouro

1/2 oz Charbay Key Lime Vodka

1/2 Fresh Tahiti Lime

1 - 2 teaspoons superfine cane sugar

Crushed ice

Cut off the ends of the lime and cut it into eight even wedges. Be sure to remove the white core. Sprinkle the sugar over 4 lime slices in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass. With a wood pestle; press only the core of the fruit, without pressing the rind. This prevents the drink from becoming sour. Fill the glass with crushed ice and add Cachaça Fazenda Mãe de Ouro and Charbay. Pour drink into shaker and shake well, Pour unstrained into rocks glass........

Edited June 19, 2006 by Lawrence (log)

[eje]

One of my favorite farmers' market vendors had passion fruit today!

I imagine you know what my first thought was.

Passion fruit caipirinihas!

Sooooooo tasty.

Just scoop a whole passion fruit into your usual caipirinha goodness.

The crunchy seeds and delicious fragrance add a whole new level to an already perfect drink.

[KatieLoeb]

Damn Erik! That sounds absolutely luscious!

I just bought some quenepas or mamoncillos at the market today and am trying to figure out what to do with them. I might try the standard Puerto Rican preparation of soaking them in rum and sugar for a little while and see where that gets me. I also have some cachaca in the house and wonder if that might not be more interesting.

edited to add:

Erik, you're a genius!! You reminded me that I had a one kilo tub of passionfruit gelee defrosting in my crisper drawer. I divided it up into two containers and refroze one of them. The other was used to make a passionfruit caipirinha that I am enjoying as I type this. I'll use up the rest that's defrosted over the next couple of days in this manner. Delicious!!!

[eje]

Damn Erik!  That sounds absolutely luscious! 

I just bought some quenepas or mamoncillos at the market today and am trying to figure out what to do with them.  I might try the standard Puerto Rican preparation of soaking them in rum and sugar for a little while and see where that gets me.  I also have some cachaca in the house and wonder if that might not be more interesting.

edited to add:

Erik, you're a genius!!  You reminded me that I had a one kilo tub of passionfruit gelee defrosting in my crisper drawer.  I divided it up into two containers and refroze one of them.  The other was used to make a passionfruit caipirinha that I am enjoying as I type this.  I'll use up the rest that's defrosted over the next couple of days in this manner.  Delicious!!! 

←

Katie,

I can't take credit for the idea. It's a traditional Brazilian preparation (Caipirinha de maracujá e limão).

At Cachaca_Dave's suggestion, I've made them in the past with a splash Passion Fruit juice. This is the first time I've tried making them with real passion fruit.

They are dangerously tasty!

---

Oh, by the way, passion fruit is native to brazil, limes are not. There's a pretty good chance that something like a passion fruit caipirinha actually pre-dates the citrus based versions. Passion fruit also gets used in another class of Brazilian drinks called Batidas. Batidas are often blended, tend to be a bit sweeter than caipirinhas, and frequently involve coconut milk or condensed milk or cream.

Edited August 6, 2006 by eje (log)

[KatieLoeb]

The passionfruit gelee I used is the Boiron Frozen Puree. I've used their mango and lychee flavors before also and it's a very good product. But they aren't inexpensive.

Mercifully, I didn't have to buy this. We just took a passionfruit cocktail off the menu at work, so there was an extra frozen package laying around. Since the pastry chef didn't need it, I brought it home to experiment with. I just bought a bottle of Goslings to infuse some cherries into, so I might see if a dark rum/passionfruit cocktail of some sort would work.

[Kent Wang]

My only options here are Pitu and 51. I find Pitu a bit better. What do you think?

I like using Billington's molasses sugar (see the Specialty sugars thread). The deep vegetal character combines nicely with the vegetal properties of cachaca, though some may find it overpowering. Also, this results in a dark brown drink which may be off-putting to those expecting the crystal clear version.

It kinda trips me out to add molasses to cachaca, both products of the noble sugar cane. Maybe I should also add a sugar cane swizzle.

[donbert]

My only options here are Pitu and 51. I find Pitu a bit better. What do you think?

I like using Billington's molasses sugar (see the Specialty sugars thread). The deep vegetal character combines nicely with the vegetal properties of cachaca, though some may find it overpowering. Also, this results in a dark brown drink which may be off-putting to those expecting the crystal clear version.

It kinda trips me out to add molasses to cachaca, both products of the noble sugar cane. Maybe I should also add a sugar cane swizzle.

←

I've been using demerara that I grind down to superfine consistency. It adds more flavor than just white sugar, it's a lot more effort but worth it I find. I prefer my caipirinha with less sugar generally suggested, more cachaça flavor and better balance in opinion.

MdO is the only way to go. Mail order it if you have to.

[Sneakeater]

You get used to MdO and you can't go back.

Cachaca Dave was just right about that. That's all there is to it.

[mukki]

I always make my caipirinhas with Leblon, but someone brought me a bottle of Sagatiba Preciosa cachaca from Brazil. Anyone have experience with the Preciosa?

[tanstaafl2]

I always make my caipirinhas with Leblon, but someone brought me a bottle of Sagatiba Preciosa cachaca from Brazil. Anyone have experience with the Preciosa?

If it is the one I know of it then that is a pretty good friend! Is it an amber spirit in a kind of bell shaped jar? If so it has been aged for many years and is a "sipping" cachaça. I personally wouldn't use it to make a caipirinha without at least trying it as is first.

But its your bottle!

[Rafa]

The Brazilians do (apparently) say that the worse the cachaça the better the Caipirinha.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

The Brazilians do (apparently) say that the worse the cachaça the better the Caipirinha.

They do, and it's true. I've had Caipirinhas made with premium, aged cachaça, and those made with barrel swish. The barrel swish ones are hands-down better in flavour.

Although, I'm also a big proponent of using Aguardiente de Caña in place of cachaça when I can't get the latter. Something like Zhumir Puro de Paute (perhaps the best Aguardiente de Caña made in Ecuador) blows something like Cachaça 51 out of the water as long as your limes are really fresh….

[Hassouni]

Cheapo rhum agricole (Dillon, $11 for a litre!) works great, too. If you have a Total Wine outlet near you, they carry it.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

The Brazilians do (apparently) say that the worse the cachaça the better the Caipirinha.

They do, and it's true. I've had Caipirinhas made with premium, aged cachaça, and those made with barrel swish. The barrel swish ones are hands-down better in flavour.

Although, I'm also a big proponent of using Aguardiente de Caña in place of cachaça when I can't get the latter. Something like Zhumir Puro de Paute (perhaps the best Aguardiente de Caña made in Ecuador) blows something like Cachaça 51 out of the water as long as your limes are really fresh….

And I've been drinking on why this is (this thread prompted me to take a shooftie in the back of my liquor cupboard, and I found a bottle of Puyo High-Test Puro de Caña there - which meant I could test it out!). I think I've figured it: the Caipirinha is not meant to be a subtle or nuanced drink the way that many other cocktails are (hence the fact that most recipes are "unbalanced") - it's meant to smash your brains out in the most pleasant way possible. So using a beautiful, premium, aged cachaça, agricole, or aguardiente añejo as your base spirit defeats the purpose - you're not out for subtlety.

[Paulo Freitas]

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

[tanstaafl2]

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

I was most familiar with the terms "industrial" vs "artisian" cachaça (such is the distinction found on wiki anyway). I don't seem to find a lot of information about them here in general and it seems like they have struggled to make a significant foothold in the US market beyond the novelty of the capirinha, much like rhum agricole has struggled. Finding an aged cachaça beyond about two years has generally been impossible for me and that is where my primary interest lies.

Maybe the recent agreement to recognize it as cachaça, as it should be, rather than as "Brazilian rum", will help improve sales.

But for now, with the exception of Leblon, the aguardente's (51, Pitú, Ypioca) or the brands created specifically for the US market like Mãe de Ouro and Novo Fogo seem to be the main ones available and none of them have particularly filled me with enthusiasm. Neither has Leblon for that matter. For now if I am looking for that general taste profile I am perfectly fine turning to a nice white rhum agricole.

Edited February 24, 2014 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Last week I was excited to find key limes at the grocery store.  I brought home a pound -- rather than restocking regular Persian limes (which are now 10 for $1.99).

 

This post:

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/47094-cachaça/?p=683780

 

Inspired me to make this recipe:

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/127191-caipirinha/?p=1695823

 

 

Actually I confess I made only two thirds of a recipe.  I have few qualms measuring alcohol by cups.  But unfortunately my glassware is only so big.  I ended up serving the beverage in my large yarai mixing glass.  As it is the drink almost overflowed.

 

Problem.  I had no muddler.  Not even a close approximation.  Today, thanks to amazon, my new muddler arrived:

Fletchers' Mill Muddler, 11-Inch

 

A serious piece of American maple.  I love amazon weekend delivery.  Apropos perhaps for a Brazilian beverage.

 

I thought my mise en place was worth a picture.  Alas, no battery, so instead you get a thousand words.

 

The sugar I ground in my marble mortar.  Preparing the limes was more difficult.  I cut the ends from six limes and quartered them lengthwise.  I removed the white centers and as many seeds as possible.  I used a ceramic knife, as I usually do for citrus.  Even so the little limes did a job on my hands.  Particularly the tip of the left thumb that I cut off last fall.  (Making Modernist Cuisine carrot soup, of course.)

 

Then I thoroughly muddled the limes and sugar, which I have to say was very satisfying.  I let the macerated limes sit for about ten minutes.  During which I rinsed the muddler and what was left of my hands.

 

I added the lime and sugar mixture to my Yukiwa baron shaker, along with two thirds of a cup Leblon Reserva.  (Remember this is but two thirds of the full cup of cachaça specified in the recipe.)  And plenty of Kotobuki ice.  I am of the "shaken, never stirred" school myself, but I must point out that the original poster specifies to shake as well.  If, indeed, a bit more graphically.

 

The intended caipirinha glass is still in the freezer, as I am sitting here in the company of my no longer overfull 16 ounce yarai.  Topping up the ice every so often, as necessary.

 

Before I forget I should mention that I like this.  Perhaps caipirinha won't fill the place in my heart of a mai tai.  Nor is it quite as efficacious as a zombie.   But this is good.

 

I remain a bit puzzled:  in what sort of vessel does one typically serve caipirinha?  Maybe an oil drum?

 

[Hassouni]

Um, no, a regular rocks/OF glass.

 

I don't know what was up with that recipe, but that "c" of cachaça must be a mistake. Same 2ish oz pour as anything else. Also, no shaking.

 

Rocks glass - half a (Persian) lime, quartered. add a few teaspoons of sugar to taste, muddle, add cachaça, stir, then add cracked ice, stir again, and done.

Edited July 28, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Um, no, a regular rocks/OF glass.

 

I don't know what was up with that recipe, but that "c" of cachaça must be a mistake. Same 2ish oz pour as anything else. Also, no shaking.

 

I had a feeling somehow you might mention that.

 

The "cup" was clearly not a mistake, as the measurement is reinforced in the text of the recipe.  Unless Brazilian cups are possibly smaller than US or British cups.

 

Anyhow, I think I shall wait until I have a slightly less expensive cachaça before I empty half a bottle.  The funny thing is two thirds of the recipe, delightful though it was, and for me rather different -- was not very intoxicating.

[radtek]

I planted a Persian lime tree last week. 

 

But today I just had my first caipirinha. Pitu was the only white cachaca available. This drink is sneaky. I'm going to have another just to see.