Crafting The Perfect Caipirinha: A Cachaça Cocktail Masterclass
Caipirinha, Brazil's national drink made using sugarcane-based liquor called cachaça, is quite the sensation in pubs across the world! This summertime favourite is easy to make and uses locally used alcohol cachaçagiving it a fresh flavour. Check out how this muddled cocktail is prepared, and understand the finer aspects of making it.
Cachaça
Cachaça is distilled from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses. It is often compared to rum, but it is not as sweet as the Caribbean-origin spirit. Cachaça has a grassy, vegetal taste which is accentuated when you combine it with lime.
Caipirinha Recipe
Ingredients
1 Lime, cut into wedges
2 teaspoons Sugar
60 ml Cachaça
Lime wheel, for garnish
Method
Take an old-fashioned glass and add lime wedges and sugar in it. Muddle well using a muddler. Top with cachaça and stir well. Caipirinha is ready to be served.
Guidelines To Make The Perfect Caipirinha
Barely-Aged Or Long-Aged Cachaça?
The classic Caipirinha uses lightly aged, transparent cachaça as its base. This kind of cachaça lends the drink a shiny hue and grassy, sharp flavour. If you prefer smoother, unconventional Caipirinha, use a golden-coloured, long-aged cachaça. It will help create a cocktail which will be less rough-hewn but still give the delightful cachaça bite.
Type Of Sugar
Most cocktails use the staple simple syrup or rich simple syrup to add sweetness to the cocktail. But Caipirinha needs to be made using sugar, preferably granulated sugar. Using simple syrup will lead to a Caipirinha of an inferior quality. Caipirinha gets much of its taste through the muddled lime wedges. When you use sugar, especially granulated sugar, it rubs against the surfaces of the lime wedges and helps release essential oil from its peels. The friction between the limes and sugar is necessary for the cocktail to get its authentic taste. Simple syrup will not help in this process and hence its use is discouraged to make the cocktail.
Amount Of Sugar
Eyeball is the keyword here. No recommended range of sugar needs to be used to make Caipirinha. The quantity of sugar depends on how sweet the cachaça is. If the cachaça is sweeter and aged, then you require less sugar, and vice versa.
Alcohol Volume Of Caipirinha
Most muddled cocktails do not usually have ingredients and processes that dilute the alcohol. The lime juice adds little to lower the alcohol strength of the cocktail. Hence, Caipirinha's alcohol content falls around 30% ABV. The cocktail is going to be slightly lower than cachaça's bottling strength, so it is not a weak drink.
Difference Between Caipirinha And Mojito
While the methods of making Caipirinha and Mojito are similar, and both are equally refreshing drinks, the flavours of the cocktails are distinctly different. The common ingredients between the drinks are sugar and fresh lime and both drinks are made by muddling the contents. But the Cuban Mojito uses rum and doesn't have the herbaceous taste of cachaça, and Caipirinha traditionally includes soda as its key component.
While it's great to learn about alcoholic beverages and alcohol-infused foods, it is important to also consume alcohol moderately. Remember to serve and drink responsibly to ensure you and your guests are healthy and out of harm's way. If you know anyone who has trouble controlling their alcohol intake, please refer them to a professional immediately.
