Beginner Cachaça Cocktails
Caipirinha
The most famous Brazilian cocktail seems simple, but requires practice to master.
Ultimately, you want a balance between flavors: the liquor, the tartness of the lime, and the sweetness of the sugar. Feel free to adjust the amount of each ingredient until you find the combination that meets your taste. This version has worked well for me:
Ingredients
1 Lime cut into 8 sections
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tumbler full of ice
1 shot of cachaça (I’ll usually add an extra half shot, just for good measure)
After cutting the lime into pieces, place it carefully in your glass. Make sure the flesh of the lime is facing up.
Next, put in the sugar. You will need a muddler, or some other hard instrument, to muddle the ingredients. You don’t need to beat up the limes; merely get the juice out.
After muddling, add ice, and then cachaça. Stir carefully.
Enjoy!
Rabo de Galo
The words Rabo de Galo literally translate to “tail of the cock.” Or cocktail. Behind the caipirinha, the Rabo de Galo is, perhaps, the most consumed cocktail in Brazil. That’s right, The Cocktail is an important cocktail.
The reason for that is obvious. It’s a simple drink to make.
Ingredients:
50 ml silver or jequitiba cachaça
50 ml sweet red vermouth (think Martini & Rossi)
Ice
Stir ingredients in your preferred glass and enjoy!
Bitter Princess
A tasty cocktail for those who enjoy darker spirits.
40 ml 4 wood blend
30 ml Amaro
30 ml Aperol
Dash of bitters
Ice
Stir ingredients together in your preferred glass and enjoy!
Fashionista
A new take on an old favorite, the Old Fashioned.
One sugar cube
A few dashes of bitters
A few drops of soda water (to melt sugar cube)
Classic large ice cube
50 ml 4 wood blend cachaça
Orange slice for garnish
Place the sugar cube in your tumbler, add the bitters and soda water, then muddle. Add your large ice cube and then 50 ml of your four-wood blend. Stir briskly. Enjoy!
