The Cocktail (Rabo de Galo)

The words Rabo de Galo literally translate to “tail of the cock.” 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:

1 shot of silver cachaça

1 shot of dry vermouth

Now, normally, The Cocktail is consumed on ice in a tumbler. Throw the ingredients in, mix it, and you’ve got yourself a tasty little drink.

I do think, however, that The Cocktail is undersold as a martini rival. If you’re using a good, silver cachaça, and a higher quality dry vermouth, there’s no reason why you can’t use a mixing glass or Boston Shaker and serve it in a martini glass with no ice. You’d probably want to use a  little bit less vermouth, but that might be the only adjustment. There’s another cocktail out there I’ve seen referred to as the Brazilian Martini. But the recipe doesn’t sound like what the world knows as a martini. The Rabo de Galo is very clearly the Brazilian version of this internationally known drink.

I’m not sure that olives or olive juice would make a good mix with this cocktail, however. I have not yet made a Rabo de Galo with, say, a splash of citrus, but I’d imagine it’s not the worst idea in the world.

Like I said earlier, and I guess I should be more explicit: don’t use a crappy cachaça to make your Rabo de Galo/Cocktail. Perhaps you have few options to choose from. That’s understandable. Most liquor stores in the US don’t have a great selection. But if you can help it, really, try to buy a quality silver cachaça to make your Cocktail a better cocktail. You won’t regret it.