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The
History of the Liquor
&
the traditional Cocktail recipe
Cachaça
(Portuguese pronunciation: [kaˈʃasɐ])
is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in
Brazil. It is also known as "aguardente", "pinga",
"caninha" or other names. Cachaça is mostly
produced in Brazil, where 1.5 billion liters (396.4
million gallons) are consumed annually, compared with 15
million liters (3.964 million gallons) outside the
country. Cachaça is, "...the product of the
distillation of fermented sugarcane juice, with its
alcohol strength anywhere from 38% to 80% by volume. When
it is homemade it can be as strong as the distiller wants.
Up to six grams per liter of sugar may be added."
Cachaça differs from rum in that most rum is made from
molasses. Use of molasses allows for the use of the
byproduct of sugar production and a smaller still but has
the taste effected by heating. Cachaca can be classified
as a "rhum agricole" which is rum produced
directly from cane juice.
1.3 billion liters
of cachaça are produced each year. Only 1% of this
production is exported (mainly to Germany). Outside
Brazil, cachaça is used almost exclusively as an
ingredient in tropical drinks, with the caipirinha
being the most famous cocktail.
Also
Cachaca
(pronounced kuh-sha-suh) is often referred to as Brazilian
rum, although technically it is actually a brandy, at
least under U.S. definition. Rum is traditionally made
from molasses, while cachaca is made from the juice of the
first pressing of sugarcane. Cachaca is available as a
white, un-aged liquor, or may be aged in wooden barrels
for anywhere from one to ten years. Aged cachaca has a
smooth taste, and a yellowish or amber color.
The History of
Cachasa
Cachaca
has been around long enough that its exact origins can
probably never be known. It seems that it appeared not
long after the introduction of sugarcane into Brazil,
sometime in the late 1500s. Along the way, someone noticed
that if sugarcane juice was cooked and left standing, it
would ferment and produce an alcoholic beverage. The
fermented juice was known as cagaca, and it was largely a
product for slaves and the working class.
It’s
probably not a surprise that eventually someone caught on
to the idea of distilling the cagaca, and so cachaca was
born. It was not only born, it exploded. Cachaca
distilleries multiplied like the proverbial rabbit during
the 16th and 17th centuries, and the liquor was so popular
that Portugal tried to ban its manufacture and
consumption.
After
roughly a century of attempting to ban cachaca, the
Portuguese government threw in the towel. They gave up the
ban in favor of taxation, a lucrative move for the
treasury. It’s estimated that there are now more than
4000 brands of cachaca in Brazil. The liquor was
originally considered to be a drink of the lower classes,
but artisanal cachacas, some of them very expensive, are
growing in popularity.
The Caiprinha
Cachaca
is versatile enough to use in a large number of cocktails
and batidas, but the most well-known cachaca cocktail is
the caipirinha. The origins of the cocktail are a mystery,
but there is an old saying in Brazil: Quanto pior a
cachaca, melhor a caipirinha, or the worse the cachaca,
the better the caipirinha. A traditional caipirinha is
made with un-aged cachaca, and some experts would say the
cheaper, the better.
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