Cachaça

[bacchant036]

bacardi does what?!!?!?!?!

[ThinkingBartender]

this reminds me of a bourbon called Virginia Gentleman. They import once-distilled spirit from Kentucky (Heaven Hill, to be exact) then redistil it in Viriginia, and it is called Viriginia Bourbon. I think I should have used past tense, but I am not sure.

Maybe there is a similar loop-hole for Bacardi/ rum in general.

Cheers!

George

[slkinsey]

In recognition of the fact that we would at least like to appear to try to be responsible here -- I don't think we should be in the business of repeating unsubstantiated rumors about Bacardi or whoever.

[viva]

curious monkey's i've known have peeled back the label to peer at what was (and perhaps still is?) a recycled kirov vodka bottle

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I'll take a peek when I get back home. The cap would lead me to believe that it's possibly a recycled bottle. I had to hack at it for a while to get the cap off ... I'm a bit impatient.

Went out last night for Japanese... they had a couple of fun twists on the caipirinha:

- Saquerinha - same as the regular caipirinha but with sake instead. Very tart & refreshing, not as sweet as the regular caip can sometimes be.

- Saquerinha with kiwi - same as above but with kiwi instead of lime. They made it with a little too much sugar for me, but this has potential. Still had the sludge problem at the bottom of the glass (a la the raspberry caip from an earlier post), little black kiwi seeds got stuck in my teeth. The kiwi taste was also refreshing and cool, I'd like to try this one at home with cachaca instead and see what happens.

They went down very easily, which is why today I am laying around my hotel room surfing eGullet.

[johnnyd]

"bacardi does what?!!?!?!?! "

Oh it's a rumour for sure: I heard it from a Brasileiro!!!

[Ed Hamilton]

Actually, I heard that Bacardi imports cheap cachaca in those railcars that look like big oil or water drums, like mile-long train loads of the stuff, then processes it somehow.  That would explain how a little island can get their rum into every bar on the planet.

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As someone is even more cynical of big distillers than you, I can state with certainty that Bacardi is not reprocessing cachaca from Brazil or anywhere else. On the other hand, one of the reasons how a little island can get their rum into every bar on the planet isn't really that hard to explain. First Bacardi has at least 7 distilleries around the world. A few years ago, they contracted Trinidad Distillers Limited to make rum for export to the Caribbean and South America. The also have distilleries in the Bahamas, Mexico and Europe.

The next time you see a bottle of their Ocho, 8, claiming to be 8 years old, take a look at the back label and you'll probably see that's it actually imported from the Bahamas.

[kvltrede]

...As for brands: Pitu is to kerosene, what kerosene is to kerosene. Germana is the *only* brand I try to use, but will happily dip into a bottle of Velho Barreiro or Ypioca Crystal...

Anybody else had Velho Barreiro? I think I saw a bottle on close-out at the liqour store last night when I was picking up a bottle of calvados (Note: I went for the Daron Fine at $20). I didn't remember the brand name from previous eGullet discussions so I passed but, as the queneau's review of the VB is positive, I'm going to try and get back the store before someone else grabs that last bottle. I'm curious, though, if anyone else has had the VB and, if so, if you would be so kind as to post your thoughts.

Thanks.

Kurt

[johnnyd]

Brasil attempts to trademark "cachaça".

Story in today's NYT

[viva]

Note that the picture at the top of the article has a bottle of Germana, the cachaca of the gods.

[CtznCane]

I had to read this thread and then look on the web just to find out what cachaca was as I'd never heard of it nor (at least in a sober stated) have I drank any of it. Now my interest is piqued to go get a bottle. Hence the following questions.

I see cachaca promoted as "rum' so I take it that it is a form of rum? For ease, I looked at BevMo.com since we have a bevmo nearby and they show 4 available. One is the Pitu which, based on the comments I'll pass on. The other three though are all versions/made by Ypioca. Listing them price wise 18,19, & 26 dollars, they are "Ypioca Cachaca Brazillian Rum", "Ypioca Cachaca Ouro Gold", and "Rum Toucano Cachaca."

Are there any ideas among these which one to get? Or, in the SF East Bay area, any other sources?

[johnnyd]

I think the inclusion of 'Rum" on the label is an effort to inform the uninformed, a marketing assist, if you will. As Mr. Hamilton pointed out earlier, Rum is a molasses product and Cachaca is a sugarcane juice distillate with very different results.

That $19 bottle Cachaca Gold (Oro is portuguese for gold) might be an aged cachaca, which will be a bit better as an introduction. White (read: newer) pinga has quite a bite.

[bacchant036]

new cachaca about in the uk,

sagatiba ,

they do two varieties, a gold and a 'pure' (silver, clear, unaged, rough etc etc etc)

i'd reccomend the gold, almost as good as a good bottle of germana (who seemed to have sorted out there inconsistencies, at last, thankyou)

the silver ain't so interesting

[Carolyn Tillie]

I am unfamiliar with it. But this press release from the TTB (née BATF) makes me very curious.

Anyone got some insight or info on it?

[crouching tyler]

I know only what I have learned from cocktail menus and bartenders, so my knowledge may not be the most accurate.

Cachaca is used in making Capriniha's (spelling is probably awful - but the drinks are quite tasty), and I think the liquor is derived from sugar cane.

Cachaca has only recently appeared in the Washington state liquor stores with any regularity.

[Cachaca_Dave]

Regarding the ATF Press release.... yes that was in reaction to the press release that my company issued on them approving our cachaça as a “distilled spirit specialty”. When the press release went out we made the mistake of saying the TTB approved it as a "distinct specialty spirit". What is the difference? Well if read by people in the liquor industry it sounded like we were announcing that the TTB approved all cachaça as a new spirit category as unique as cognac is to France. Needless to say they were very upset with us and we corrected the press release to make amends. But many months have passed since then and we’re still waiting for our label to be approved by them.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/1/prweb196108.htm

[Cachaca_Dave]

Not all cachaça is created equally. In fact until 2001 most of the “cachaça” produced in Brazil was identical to all the other aguadentes of South America. So what happened? Brazilian President Fernando Enrique Cardoso signed “a decree establishing cachaça as the official and exclusive name for cane alcohol in Brazil.” And so with the stroke of a pen a noble name was awarded to even the worst moonshine.

As the esteemed Ed Hamilton said the flavor of cachaça can vary based on rainfall and weather. However there are countless other variables that influence the final product such as the soil, if the cane is hand cut or machine cut, and what type of wood the cachaça is aged in.

The first thing to ask about a cachaça is the method of production. “Cachaça Industrial” is produced using a 20 foot stainless steel column still, which is how most spirits in the world are produced. “Cachaça Alimbique” is produced using a copper still that could be used to distill cognac in a pinch.

To quote a statistic: In 2003 Brazil produced 1 billion liters of industrial cachaça and 500 million liters of alimbique cachaça. In that same year 19.5 million liters of industrial cachaça was exported while only 500,000 liters of alimbique cachaça was exported (2.6% of the exports).

[chromedome]

I just tried my first cachaca last week. I'd read all of Jorge Amado's novels in my teens/early twenties, so it was something I was curious about. I'd assumed all along that it was simply a local white rum, no different from anything else.

What I bought was a brand called "Samba Brasil Gold," the first cachaca that I've seen here in Edmonton (admittedly I wasn't actively looking for it). It was an interesting pale green-gold colour, inclining toward the green. I was rather startled at the olfactory resemblance to tequila. It wasn't as apparent in the actual flavour, more so in the nose, but it was rather interesting. As with tequila, limes and sunshine seemed like the natural accompaniments.

I won't be busting my backside to keep a bottle on hand, but it was interesting and I'd certainly think about getting some more when summer rolls around.

[johnnyd]

“Cachaça Alimbique” is produced using a copper still

When I was a teen in São Paulo Brasil, my dad came back one day with one of these monsters. It was about five foot high and four foot in diameter, all hand-hammered copper.

Guess who got to polish it?

[slbunge]

“Cachaça Alimbique” is produced using a copper still

When I was a teen in São Paulo Brasil, my dad came back one day with one of these monsters. It was about five foot high and four foot in diameter, all hand-hammered copper.

Guess who got to polish it?

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But does he (or you) still have it?

[johnnyd]

Incredibly... yes! After 30 years too. It has a detachable top, copper as well, that tapers down into a funnel that, at it's mouth, is about three inches wide.

Edited March 11, 2005 by johnnyd (log)

[Marya]

Here, in Oregon, the state-run (read: pathetically inedequate) loquorias only carry Pitu, the poor man's cachaca in Brasil. My brother supplements my plebean stash with Pirassununga, when visiting from New York. He also brought Pirapora, but it's not very good. Does anyone know if Germana can be had on the Pacific Northwest?

[viva]

If anyone could find Germana in the United States, I would be happy. My family has discovered my stash and they like it, so they keep drinking it, damn them.

[Cachaca_Dave]

I don't think we'll be seeing Germana here in the USA any time soon unless they make a serious effort to use new bottles that are of regulation size and improve their quality control.

When my company was considering which cachaca to import to the USA we were in discussions with the cachaca cooperative that owns Germana and another brand called Samba e Cana. To make a long story short their own pride and greed sunk our talks very early in the negotiations.

One way that I used to evaluate cachaca is to take a clean glass, pour a bit of cachaca into it, swirl it around, then pour it out. You then take the glass and leave it on the table overnight. Sounds crazy no? Well smell the glass the next morning. If you smell off odors similar to wet newspapers there are some major problems with the product (contains ethers, esters, volatile acids, etc...). Collectively called "congeners" by some these bi-products of distillation are what causes those week long hangovers. While some would claim that it is these bi-products that give cachaca it's flavor, I strongly disagree.

We didn't check the Germana brand because we had already decided that we were not going to do business with them. With the other brands the clean glass test usually confirmed that they were a quality product after they described their distillation process to us. Folks that talked a good game, but failed the clean glass test were not called back.

[viva]

Are there any new brands that are in the works or that you will be importing that you can share with us? My Brazil project is over, so I won't be able to do any suitcase-importing for quite a while, would love some new sources/brands in the US to buy from.

You've got me curious, might try the glass test with the bottles I've stocked up at home...

[elswinger]

Pirassununga is one of three brands available in Washington State, Pitu and Ypioca Silver being the other two. Of the three, which one should I try first?