Cachaça

[Cachaca_Dave]

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?

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If forced I would drink Pirassununga 51 over the others.

[Cachaca_Dave]

Well the San Francisco World Spirit Competition results are in for Cachaca. Personally I think that lack of experience by the judges has resulted in some incorrect results, but what do I know.

DOUBLE GOLD

Rochinha Single Barrel Cachaça, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [41%] ($38) Importer: Excalibur Enterprise - Cos Cob, CT www.excaliburenterprise.com

SILVER

Agua Luca Cachaça, Brazil [40%] ($25) Importer: Excelsior Imports - Atlanta, GA

Beleza Superior Premium Cachaça, Sao Paulo, Brazil [40%] ($28 for 750ml) Importer: Excalibur Enterprise - Cos Cob, CT www.belezabrazil.com / www.excaliburenterprise.com

BRONZE

Caçhaca Fazenda Mâe de Ouro Cachaça, Brazil [40%] ($28 for 1 liter) Importer: USA Wine Imports - NY, NY www.caipirinha.us

Cachaça Safari Cyro Eloy Safari, Brazil [40%] Importer: Hydromex Distributing Co. - Salt Lake City, UT

Toucano Gold Cachaça, Ceara, Brazil [40%] ($25) Importer: Preiss Imports - Ramona, CA www.preissimports.com

Ypioca Ouro Ceara, Brazil [39%] ($25) Importer: Preiss Imports - Ramona, CA www.preissimports.com

[johnnyd]

Dave,

Congratulations on the Bronze medal for Fazenda Mãe de Ouro. A marketing help I hope. I'd love to be able to judge it too, but sadly, it's unavailable here in the wilds of Maine... oh, so distant... from good cachaça...Dave? Hello?? Damn! he hung up on me...

Edited April 5, 2005 by johnnyd (log)

[viva]

That is good information to know. I think I might have seen the Toucano at my local store, not sure if it was Toucano *Gold*, but I will check it out.

[Splificator]

Agua Luca Cachaça, Brazil [40%] ($25) Importer: Excelsior Imports - Atlanta, GA

Would anyone out there happen to have contact information for the nice folks at Excelsior Imports? I need to secure a bottle of this stuff for an article and they are proving elusive.

Tx,

DW

[slkinsey]

I went to a very interesting cachaça tasting yesterday to sample the cachaças of Excalibur Enterprise. It certainly was an eye opener. I've always understood that most of the cachaça available in the United States is low quality. But it's hard to understand just how wide the difference is until you've had some of the good stuff. This was the good stuff.

We started with their flagship product, Beleza Pura. This is an unaged cachaça, produced from selected lots of sugar cane, fermented with wild yeast, column distilled and blended by Excalibur owner Olie Berlic. This is a cachaça created by Excalibur. It has the clean, slightly sour flavor of cachaça, notably smoother than Pitu and that ilk, with a very interesting light smokiness.

Next was one of their imports from Armazem Viera. These cachaças are also fermented with wild yeast, distilled in a pot still, aged in barrels made from local Aririba wood up to 20 years, and then blended by the master distiller using the "solera system." Excalibur is importing Armazem Viera cachaças at 4, 8 and 16 years. We tried the 4 year old. This was one of the most interesting. As described, it has a certain similarity with grappa or eau de vie. It also had a very distinctive nose somewhat reminiscent of a jar of cocktail olives.

After that we tried Rochina, a single barrel cachaça from Rio de Janeiro. This is fermented and distilled with a similarly intensive method to those described above and aged in oak casks -- some of which, I am given to understand, were used to age scotch whisky once upon a time. It is being imported in 5 and 12 year bottlings. We tried the younger one. It had a little color from the wood, and definite hints of smoke. Very smooth, but overall I'm not sure I don't like Beleza Pura a little better.

Last we tasted GRM, a "small batch" cachaça aged in oak. Lots of spice flavors and some vanilla from the wood. Without a doubt a "sipping cachaça."

Currently these cachaças are available in NYC at Astor Wines, and Caviar & Banana Brasserio is featuring them on its cocktail list.

[Olie]

I went to a very interesting cachaça tasting yesterday to sample the cachaças of Excalibur Enterprise.  It certainly was an eye opener.  I've always understood that most of the cachaça available in the United States is low quality.  But it's hard to understand just how wide the difference is until you've had some of the good stuff.  This was the good stuff.

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Sam,

I have been meaning to say thank you for your kind post - THANKS!

I am out of my mind working to turn on the US to quality Cachacas.

Please stay in touch - all the best - cheers!

[johnnyd]

I am out of my mind working to turn on the US to quality Cachacas.

Graças a Deus, meu bem!

I can't wait to have something other than PITU on the shelves. Best of luck!

[Olie]

I am out of my mind working to turn on the US to quality Cachacas.

Graças a Deus, meu bem!

I can't wait to have something other than PITU on the shelves. Best of luck!

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Obrigado,

If you like, you can buy online for ME at: www.bevmax.com type (cachaca) in the search area and you'll find all of my products. I hope to meet and party with all good cachaca lovers. caipirinhas on me (soon)...

Abraco

[johnnyd]

I do declare that bevmax tip was a revelation. On the basis of Sam's recomendation (and the fact that it was on sale) I ordered Beleza Pura. According to the tracking # I should receive it in a couple of hours.

[johnnyd]

Well, that one's empty!

My first impression of Beleza Pura was that it was relatively smooth, no bite to it. That is a good thing. Some labeless bottles I've had were good for their fermented cane flavour, but snapped your head off with alcohol. BP had only a modest cachaça "nose" which disappointed me, but a smooth passage down the hatch. I felt a tingling on the tongue that was a little worrisome, but add limes and sugar and we were in business.

We had a traditional feijoada to celebrate the bottle's arrival. Started cooking the popular brasilian black bean dish on Friday morning, so it was perfect for lunch on Saturday. There is a little Brasilian store on Forest Ave here in Portland where I got Farofa (manioc flour), guarana soda, goiabada (guava paste), cafe caboclo and a few other things. The dish was served with collard sauteed in olive oil and garlic, valencia orange segments and toasted farofa. After three caipirinhas, it was especially welcome.

Time to order another bottle!

[Joe Blowe]

Thought I would revive this thread with a link from the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo...ll=la-home-food

September 7, 2005

WINE & SPIRITS

Lightning bolt born in Brazil

Long a liquor of the working class, cachaça is making a new splash.

By Charles Perry, Times Staff Writer

FOLLOWING a now-familiar pattern in the spirits world, cachaça, the Brazilian liquor made from sugar cane juice, has made a heady move up the social ladder in recent years. Like those other better-known New World distillates, rum and tequila, cachaça (ka-SHAH-sa) was originally a working man's drink but has lately been taken to new, more sophisticated heights by ambitious producers.

Although very few of the thousands of cachaças made in Brazil are available in the United States, the drink is catching on here. It's part of the international fascination with all things Brazilian, and it's showing up in the U.S. not only at Brazilian restaurants but also at fashionable bars and liquor retailers.

Free registration required -- use bugmenot.com to get yours.

[Cachaca_Dave]

Yeah I read the LA Times article. And I really wasn't very impressed because there are a number errors in the story:

"Pirapora, which is aged three years, about as old as cachaça ever gets."

WRONG - cachaca can be much older. Pirapora is aged 3 years? No comment.

(speaking about Batuque) - "At about $33, it's as expensive as cachaça gets"

WRONG - some of the Excaliber brands sell for more

"In Brazil," says Luciano Baioco, a bartender at Gauchos Village in Glendale, "they have traditional wooden cups for muddling the lime and sugar. Brazilians shake it, they don't stir it. … When you stir it, you blend the ice."

-When I met with countless cachaca producers in Brazil there was not a single demonstration where the drink was shaken. (But everyone to the last man did cut the core out of the lime.)

"Caninha da Roça, a brand that's never been imported to the U.S. " - WRONG it's here now and distributed by Southern W&S in NY as Cachaca Da Roca.

"...Ypióca and 51. John Davis, a bartender at Fogo de Chão in Beverly Hills, calls the last two "the Absolut and Grey Goose of cachaças." - I think this guy was seripusly misquoted.

What I'm starting to see in the market is some very savvy marketers. Because the US authorities have so little experience with cachaca basically anyone can slap "aged X years" on a bottle and get away with it. This comment clearly excludes the quality Excliber brands which I am sure are even older than their age statements claim (age statements can only be for full years).

Furthermore there is this one brand that has just come out with an "alimbique" cachaca (I'm not saying who). Just one harsh taste tells me it's an industrial cachaca in the bottle. That sort of thing just makes my blood pressure go up....

[Jason Perlow]

There's a new Cachaca coming out of Belo Horizonte whch is artisanally produced that I had an opportunity to try at the fancy food show back in June -- its called Samba e Cana. I beleive they are currently looking for distributors. Of the various Cachaca that I have tried, its one of the very best.

http://www.loja.iol.pt/produto.php?id=105014

[Jason Perlow]

I had the opportunity to try Dave's Cachaça, the Mao de Ouro, last night along with JHLurie and Sam Kinsey, and I must say, its one off the best I've tried so far and definitely comparable to Samba e Cana (and definitely more avaliable, especially if you live in New York).

Dave is truly a Caipirinha enthusiast and has some key insights on its preparation -- from removing the core of the limes to tame the bitterness, and to using superfine sugar instead of regular granulated. I think this greatly improves the results.

I'm wondering though, whether there are other cocktails that could be made with Cachaça besides the Caipirinha. I put some thought into it last night and I came up with some ideas for Caipirinha variants that might work:

1: Cai Pina: Muddled fresh pineapple and fresh mint leaves, with sugar, crushed ice and cachaca poured over the top.

2. Pirinha Colada: Cachaca and coconut milk, crushed ice, with lime juice, sugar, blended. With a sugarcane swizzler. I also think coconut water might work really well too.

[Cachaca_Dave]

Jason,

Thank you very much for coming to the event and your kind words! Caipirinhas were the tost of the night with everyone coming back for seconds, thirds and fourths! And the bartender Andy was shocked at how much he made in tips - $242 in about 3 hours with 95% of the drinks being caipirinhas. We used up all the limes in the entire neighborhood and poured till we ran out of everything.

I'll have to mix up these drinks and add them to our drink list - they sound delicious and have great names as well. "contributed by Perlow" will be included of course!

Regards,

David Catania

[Jason Perlow]

Yeah let me know how those turn out, I might try them this weekend as well.

[johnnyd]

Batidas are cachaca drinks made with available tropical fruit in Brasil.

Batida de coco includes a dab of sweetened condensed milk.

Batida de caju substitutes lime juice for cashew fruit juice. I had a small bottle of it during my blog last week and added it to the limes leftover from a traditional caipirinha.

Not as hot as I thought but if I made it properly I might think otherwise.

Go here for my meyer lemon caipirinha made with Fazenda Mae de Oro!

[johnnyd]

Okay people!

Where are the reports of last night's cachaca tasting??? If your heads are pounding it was obviously a great success.

Opinions are welcome. Pics are a bonus!

[KatieLoeb]

I've had the pleasure of trying the Mae de Ouro as well, and am feverishly trying to help Dave find a distributor in PA so I can get it when I run out. Very tasty stuff that makes a mean caipirinha.

I've been experimenting with pineapple infused cachaca to good effect. One finely chopped pineapple per bottle. Soak for a week then whirl through the blender and strain. Makes for very tasty "Caipi-piña" drinks as well as a fine Pineapple sour or a good Colada for some alternatives to the standards.

[Cachaca_Dave]

There was a very good article on quality cachaca by Rob Willey in the current (Feb / March) issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. They brands they mentioned were Mae De Ouro, Beleza Pura and Ypioca. While I thought it went a long way explaining what makes cachaca different from rum I wish it went into just a little detail on the difference between a pot still cachaca versus a column still cachaca.

-DC

PS for those of you who have the program Google Earth the coordinates for Cachaca Fazenda Mae De Ouro are: 20 degrees 41' 24" South, 46 degrees 15' 26" West (AKA the middle of nowhere, Brazil).

[eje]

It seems like this question has been asked many times; but, going back through the thread I can't quite tell the answer.

If one only has a choice between the Ypioca (ouro gold, toucano, crystal), Pitu, and Pirrasunga 51 cachacas, which would anyone recommend for a first purchase?

[Cachaca_Dave]

It seems like this question has been asked many times; but, going back through the thread I can't quite tell the answer.

If one only has a choice between the Ypioca (ouro gold, toucano, crystal), Pitu, and Pirrasunga 51 cachacas, which would anyone recommend for a first purchase?

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Wow I'm sorry that the question is not just theoretical. If you must I think that you can get by using 51 but I seem to find that it can differ from bottle to bottle and I have no idea why. Ignorance is bliss and I think you already know too much about cachaca from reading this thread. However IF you call up K&L Wine Merchants (www.klwines.com) in SF, they are aware of Mae De Ouro and know the CA distributor to call to order it.

[Jack Rose]

Eric-

Knowing that California is one of the few, if not only states that allows mail-ordering spirits, why not order Pitù from operations in New York. Recommended brands include Pirapora and Mãe de Ouro. I advise to steer clear of Pitù, for it is overly harsh and still has noticeable bitterness when mixed in caipirinhas or batidas. Pirassunga "51" and Ypioca are good, middle of the road offerings that can be used if needed.

Once obtained, try out a Melzinho which is pinga (another more common name for the spirit in Brazil) mixed with honey. I lenthen the honey with spring water (2:1 on average, but it depends on the honey), so that it is pourable and dissolves in a shaker. I have seen honey syrups used in Europe and it is known as "runny honey" in the UK, which I have seen for the last 7 or 8 years at cocktail bars in London. Dale DeGroff also has a recipe for an Absolut Aphrodisiac in 'Craft', which is equal parts Grand Marnier and cachaça. As for Maine, I am not even sure if anything is sold outside of the Pitù, so I am a bit jealous of your options.

[Cachaca_Dave]

Knowing that California is one of the few, if not only states that allows mail-ordering spirits.

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Well in that case you can order online from these two establishments here that have several cachacas to choose from:

http://www.parkaveliquor.com/parkave/html/ (search cachaca)

http://www.beekmanliquors.com/rums.htm (bottom of the page)

Jack - I would call Park Ave just to double check if they can ship to you.

-DC