Famosinha de Minas Amburana

Distiller: Famosinha de Minas

Location: Papagaios, Minas Gerais

Aged?: Yes, 12 months

Type of wood: Amburana

ABV: 42%

A quiet, cozy Amburana that has won a gold medal in Brussels in the past, Famosinha has one of the biz's nicest labels. It’s not fancy packaging, but you can t3ll that they’re trying to appeal to the macho Brazilian man.

It’s very light amber in the glass, clings well. The nose is heavily vegetal with a strong cane towards the end and a bit of spice. On the palate, I gathered cinnamon and spice, of course. It heats the whole tongue, though it’s a very light touch with barely an aftertaste.

The first dose I took at room temperature. But having heard that a lot of people consume amburanas cold, I decided to take the next dose with an ice cube. Cooling down the amburana didn’t change much substantively, though it felt less stuffy if that makes sense. The flavors remained steady.

My last experiment was to make a Rabo de Galo with it. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. But what I got was a robust caramel flavor. The combination of the Amburana and the vermouth was really quite pleasing. I’d never done it before but would do it again.

So, overall, a very simple but pleasant amburana. Good with ice, better in a cocktail. A worthy part of anyone’s collection and an easily drinkable cachaça that one can share with friends. Give it a try.