Caipirinha
Brazil's national drink. Cachaça, lime and sugar, built and muddled in the glass you drink from.
Muddled · Rocks glass · Medium · about 3 minutes · about 23% ABV
Ingredients
- ½ Lime, cut into wedges
- 15 ml Sugar syrup
- 60 ml Cachaça
Method
- Add ½ lime, cut into wedges
- Pour 15 ml sugar syrup into the glass
- Muddle gently
- Add ice
- Pour 60 ml cachaça into the glass
- Churn
- Serve
Tip
Cut out the white pith from the centre of the lime. It turns the drink bitter.
About the Caipirinha
The Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail. Its roots are often traced to a lime, garlic and honey remedy drunk during the 1918 flu pandemic in São Paulo. Over time, the garlic and honey were dropped, and sugar and ice were added.
The sour family. Sours are one of the oldest mixed-drink families. Spirit, citrus and sugar go back to the punches British sailors and traders drank in the 1600s and 1700s, and Jerry Thomas printed sour recipes in the first American bartending book in 1862. Egg white came later, for a silky foam. Almost every classic with fresh citrus, from the Daiquiri to the Whiskey Sour, follows this pattern.
Caipirinha FAQ
What's in a Caipirinha?
½ lime, cut into wedges, 15 ml sugar syrup, 60 ml cachaça.
How strong is a Caipirinha?
About 23% ABV once mixed with ice, which is 1.9 Australian standard drinks per serve. That is stronger than a glass of wine.
Should I shake or stir a Caipirinha?
Neither. Muddle the fresh ingredients in the glass, add crushed ice and churn with a spoon.
What glass do you serve a Caipirinha in?
A rocks glass, about 300 ml. Serve it over ice. No rocks glass? Use any short, heavy tumbler.
