What vodka is to Russia, what bourbon is to America, and what tequila is to Mexico, Cachaça is to Brazil. When made well, Cachaça is one of the most interesting spirits in the world. Artisanal cachaças are rich, full-bodied spirits that also have a great deal of grace and subtlety.
Often called Brazilian rum, this nickname for Cachaça isn’t entirely wrong. Both Cachaça and Rum are made from sugar. The basic difference is that while rum is made from sugarcane by-products like molasses, Cachaça is made straight from the sugarcane itself.
Guide to The Most Popular Spirit in Brazil
Cachaça is the national spirit of Brazil. It is a local favorite liquor. Moreover, a massive part of its annual production never ever leaves the country’s shores. Nevertheless, Brazilians are proud of the international recognition cachaça has gained over the years.
Exclusively produced in Brazil, this fruity and vegetal spirit nowadays can be found all around the world. Most people abroad are aware of Caipirinha, the most popular cocktail, that can be found in plenty of bars and cafés across all seven continents.
An average Brazilian normally grows up having a large number of cachaças at home. Cachaça is deeply rooted in their culture and food. This Brazilian spirit has over 100 different names in the country like aguardente, bendita, marvada, pinga, and more.
We are here, making it a point, to talk about everything you need to know concerning Cachaça including types, cocktails, what it tastes like, how you can drink it, how it differs from rum, how you can drink it, and where to find it. Let’s get started! Here’s a complete guide.
Some Facts about Cachaça
The first question that would spring into your mind is ‘what kind of liquor is cachaça?’
It is documented that Cachaça was first produced in South America in the 16th century. It is the oldest spirit ever produced in the whole American continent.
Cachaça that we now relish is extracted from sugarcane juice and has no other ingredient by law, although sugar or caramel is added sometimes. Any other distilled spirit extracted from fruits in place of sugarcane will not be called Cachaça. Even when distilled sugarcane juice has spices or herbs.
Aguardente instead is the right word for such mixed types of liquors. Characteristics of Cachaça are that it is fermented and then distilled, much like rum.
What does cachaça taste like?
First and foremost, Cachaça is a grassy, vegetal spirit. It invariably reveals the sugarcane taste and aroma. And the fermentation thereafter.
Cachaça goes through a single batch distillation procedure. It helps the final product retain a rich and flavorsome concentration of congeners. The cachaça congener concentration by law must be between 200-650 milligrams by 100 milliliters of alcohol.
Industrial Vs. Artisanal Cachaça
The majority of Cachaças we find in the grocery shops in Brazil nowadays are classified as industrial. These are commonly produced in large columns still. This is why they are usually inexpensive and have a much more neutral taste.
Artisanal Cachaça on the other hand is produced in small batches or even handcrafted. It gives the spirit more body alongside taste.
Quite a few Cachaças these days may have the addition of a certain amount of sugar without disclosure. Aged Cachaças, might even have the addition of caramel for color correction.
Types of Cachaças
There are a whopping 4,000 brands or more of Cachaças presently found in Brazil. Each one of them is classified into one of these five types of spirits. The Silver, the Gold, the Premium, the Extra-Premium, and the Special Reserve categories.
- Silver: This type of Cachaça is a transparent liquor. It takes the name Classic, Traditional, or Silver in its label. These types of cachaças may or may not have been aged in wooden casks. Such casks are usually made of wood that does not release coloration, such as freijó, jequitibá, and peanut.
- Gold: These cachaça bottles contain at least 50% of the spirit aged in wooden barrels from between 2 to 12 months’ time. The process eventually changes the color of the spirit and its taste as well. The post-distillation resting procedure allows the liquor to develop more pronounced fruit notes. Otherwise, it would typically be grassy, green, and vegetal notes.
- Premium: This Cachaça type has 100% of its content aged in smaller tanks for 1-3 years at least. The changes in the taste, aroma, and color of Premium are much more evident as the tanks used in the process are smaller than the ones used in other types.
- Extra-Premium: It is only the aging time that differentiates between the Premium and Extra-Premium varieties. The Extra-Premium Cachaça is aged for at least 3 years in a wooden cask before serving.
- Special Reserve: The Special Reserve type of Cachaça is aged in European wood casks from anywhere between 2 to a little over 3 years’ time before serving.
How do you drink Cachaça?
Cachaça is a very versatile Brazilian alcohol. There are many different ways you can consume them.
You can take pure shots of Cachaça if you like or with tequila depending upon your preference. You could also have it on the rocks if you like.
You can also have the best of Cachaça in a cocktail, as it usually mixes well with sugar and different types of fruits. If you ask me, these 19 variants of Cachaça cocktails are well worth the effort.
Go For These 19 Cachaça Cocktails
Try these 19 easy and tasty Brazilian drinks with cachaça that you can comfortably prepare at home. And don’t ever miss it! Know that Brazilians celebrate National Cachaça Day on September 13.
Brazilians consume approximately 1,5 billion litres of cachaça per year. Compared to the rest of the world which consumes just about 15 million liters annually.
- Alexander Cocktail: Also known as, Leite de Onça, or ‘Milk of the Jaguar,’ The Alexander Cocktail is a fierce cocktail that you need to make during festive celebrations. It is actually pretty similar to the classic Alexander Cocktail. Except that the jaguar’s milk trades cognac for cachaca. Alongside adding cinnamon and condensed milk. The Leite de Onça is Brazilian through and through. It whips up a couple for the Festa Junina.
- Batida-de-Coco: Move over piña coladas. Batida de cocos are here to steal the coconut cocktail authority. It os a classic Brazilian coconut cocktail that is brimmed with creamy coconut flavors. This cocktail is creamy, fruity, and downright scrumptious. Coconut cocktails with Cachaca are the ultimate tropical drink to enjoy. Especially during the summer months. It is ideal to serve them up on your next beach-themed vacation.
- Batida Cocktail: Are you looking for the perfect cocktail to sip on a hot summer day? Stir up a batch of batida cocktails for a perfect, and refreshing evening. It is a Brazilian favorite made for a warm climate. Batida basically means ‘shaken’ in Portuguese. This refers to the way you have to make the drink. You just have to shake everything together and serve it over ice. This cocktail with the tasty tartness of passion fruit is so irresistible. The Batida Cocktail pairs beautifully with the fruity flavors in the cachaca.
- Bitter Buck: Try this Cachaça version of a Moscow Mule. The Brazilian Buck, with Novo Fogo Chameleon, is aged in used bourbon barrels for one year. This is where it starts to get interesting. The aging process in the cask imparts Cachaça with subtle hints of vanilla and oak. The expression accentuates further instead of masking the citrusy character of the spirit.
- Brazil 66: This Cachaça cocktail is bursting with the most amazing citrus flavor. Brazil 66 is bright, fresh, and hands down delish. It is an orange liqueur called triple sec that adds a whole lot of punch of orange flavor to this cocktail. Brazil 66 pairs perfectly well along with fresh orange juice. The concoction is more like an orange caipirinha, but a little less tart. Sounds good! Go for it!
- Blackberry Caipirinha: Great way to impress your friends! Serve them a batch of the Blackberry caipirinha. This cocktail displays a bold hue and complex fruity flavor that your friends would love to have over and over again. Moreover, muddled blackberries add a wonderful gust of fruity flavor to the traditional caipirinha outcome. While it makes the drink a little sweeter and a little tarter than before. Blackberry caipirinha is an eye-catching cocktail that is perfect to kick off your happy hour celebrations.
- Caipirinha Coffee: What if your everyday iced coffee is a boozy treat? The Caipirinha Coffee is a perfect starter for summer mornings. It displays a fruity lime flavor of classic cachaca cocktails that goes extremely well with the nutty coffee aroma. However, be sure you use good-quality coffee for the best cocktail. Moreover, make it a point to garnish these refreshing drinks with a slice of lime. And add some whole coffee beans to perfect the concoction.
- Cuban Cachaca Cocktail: The super-smooth Cuban Cachaca Cocktails make for a perfect after-work tipple. Enjoy the mellow taste of the cachaca when it hits the spot. Showcase your cocktail-making skills and whip up a batch of these fantastic drinks with friends. You only need limes, sugar, cachaca, and ice to put together this cocktail. Moreover, the good news is that it only takes 5 minutes to make this cocktail.
- Iz Bananaz: This is a funky combo of Cachaça and bittersweet Amaro Montenegro. It is all it takes to make the Iz Bananaz cocktail so wonderful. The flavor-packed liquors of the traditional Amaro are shaken up with toasty banana liqueur and lemon juice along with Cachaça. This cocktail is sweet, sour, warm, and downright drool-worthy. Make it a point to garnish your Iz Bananaz cocktail with an orange peel as the final touch.
- Kumquat Caipirinha: Are you looking to try something new and exciting? It is then the best time to whip up a kumquat cocktail. This version of a caipirinha was first developed by the bartender, Eben Freeman, of Tailor Restaurant in New York City. He swapped out the limes for kumquats and added turbinado sugar to make one. In order to give the drink a more salty-sweet depth, he then added a soy-caramel sauce to this cocktail. Yummy times are back here, once again!
- Meyer Lemon & Thyme Caipirinha: Look no further than the Meyer Lemon and Thyme Caipirinha if you are looking for a drink that packs a punch. The tart Meyer lemon in this cocktail deliciously balances the sugar cane notes of the cachaca. The thyme creates an amazing and delicate perfume alongside. However, you can always add a splash of seltzer to smooth it out if you find this drink a little too boozy. Best time to get the most amazing, and refreshing drink right away.
- Passion Fruit Caipirinha: This cocktail is so fruity and delicious. The Passion Fruit caipirinha is refreshing, tangy, and delightfully sweet. What makes this classic caipirinha cocktail so refreshing is the addition of passion fruit juice. Serve it at your next barbecue or Brazilian-themed dinner party. It is a perfect drink for summertime that guarantees to go down as an excellent treat.
- Pearl Button: This simple and extremely refreshing highball was first created by the bartender John Dragon at the New York speakeasy PDT in the East Village. What gives this cocktail a lovely and elegant floral note is Lillet. Lillet is a light and fragrant fortified wine from France. The lime juice is the ultimate thirst-quencher in this concoction. The Pearl Button pairs well with seafood like the Grilled Oregano Shrimp. It is a simple appetizer that is brimming with pungent aromas of charred oregano. A herb that effectively flourishes against the floral Lillet and earthy cachaça. The Pearl Button also pairs well with Fried Mozzarella with Arugula and Prosciutto for lunch. The high acid and citrus notes from the Limonata cut through the fattiness in the oil. While the saltiness in the prosciutto makes it ideal for a late brunch.
- Pineapple Caipirinha: There is no better summertime drink than this one! The Pineapple Caipirinha cocktail is fresh, fruity, and downright delicious. Leave the pineapple and cachaca to infuse for a few days if you want to make the best possible cocktail version. The process helps boost the flavor and smoothness of the drink. Oblige the Pineapple Caipirinha cocktail with some pineapple and lime in a sugar-rimmed glass.
- Rabo-de-Galo: Back in the 1950s, Cinzano opened a production facility in Brazil. It hit a roadblock when they tried introducing Cinzano Rosso to the people. Brazilians preferred to drink Cachaca, the nation’s most popular spirit. The Rabo de Galo, which translates to ‘cock tail’ or ‘rooster tail’ was a creation to tailor it to the local Brazilian folks. The original version of the cocktail called for 2/3 Cachaca and 1/3 Cinzano Rosso. However, it is now common to split the Rosso with another Brazilian favorite ‘Cynar’. Nowadays, the Rabo de Galo cocktail is made in many different ways depending on the region of Brazil. Different ratios and different glassware are utilized. Some bars prefer to serve it in a large shot glass with incremental lines. These glasses are specifically designed for the Rabo de Galo.
- Raspberry Caipirinha: This cocktail offers a bright and fruity twist to the drink. It is mouth-wateringly delicious, and perfect for sipping on hot summery days. Imagine raspberries adding a wonderful and eye-catching amount of color to this cocktail. They are so easy to muddle and incorporate into this classic Brazilian concoction. You can always strain the cocktail before serving if you prefer a smoother version of the cocktail with no raspberry bits in your drink.
- Sparkling Pomegranate Caipirinha: This cocktail is pretty similar to a Daiquiri. The only difference is that you use sugarcane-based cachaça instead of rum. Cachaça invariably adds an earthiness that pairs wonderfully with the fruity pomegranate juice. Add a little sparkling wine to the concoction for that perfect, bubbly touch. The Sparkling Pomegranate Caipirinha is elegant, fruity, and delectably tasty. There is so much to love about the bright, sparkling cocktails including Cachaça.
- Strawberry Caipirinha: This cocktail is a savory and fruity variation of classic caipirinha. It is a perfect drink to have with friends on a hot summer day. You will fall head over heels for the Strawberry Caipirinha cocktail if you love fruity drinks. The classic caipirinha in this concoction is taken up a notch further with delicious strawberries and fresh mint. Don’t forget to add a little lime juice that brings it all together with a tasty tartness. Make sure to garnish this scarlet-red cocktail with sliced strawberries and fresh mint leaves. Fill up the mixing glass with ice and pour sugar syrup along with Pitú Cachaça. Then shake it well for a few seconds before pouring it into the serving glasses. It is now time to garnish the drink with a strawberry slice and mint sprig.
- The Bristol’s Winter Caipirinha: You will adore this twist on classic caipirinha if you love margaritas and mojitos. It is a perfect drink for hot summer days during brunch and happy hours. From Debbi Peek of The Bristol in Chicago, the Bristol’s Winter Caipirinha is a cocktail where sweet kumquats are muddled along with lime wedges, rosemary sprigs, and sugar. This mix creates such a wonderful balance of flavors, where the herbal, tangy, and sweet aromas all come together.
Where to buy Cachaça?
It is now easy to find cachaça outside of Brazil. Several liquor stores nowadays stock this Brazilian spirit. Moreover, you can also buy it online nowadays.
Cachaça Vs. Rum
Many people wrongfully refer to Cachaça as a type of rum just because they come from the same plant. They are not the same kind of spirit. Moreover, there is no such thing as Brazilian rum. The primary difference between the two is how they are made.
Both spirits come from sugarcane, but they come from different parts of this plant. While rum is made from molasses which is a by-product of the cane juice after extracting as many sugar crystals as possible, Cachaça on the other hand is made from freshly pressed sugarcane juice. Moreover, it must be produced in Brazil, or else, it is not considered cachaça. Rum though can be produced in any part of the world.
Rum as such is usually aged in oak casks. Cachaça in contrast can be aged or not be aged in different types of wooden barrels. Cachaça, which is distilled in a well-made pot still will reveal the taste of the sugarcane in a way that rum never can.
Where does the name cachaça come from?
There are many theories surrounding the origin of the name ‘Cachaça’. However, the most acceptable one is that the name of this spirit is derived from a Portuguese spirit. This liquor is made from a bunch of grapes. Grapes in Portuguese are called Cacho de Uvas. And mind you the similarities between Cacho and Cachaça are unambiguous.
Brazil was a new colony of Portugal at a particular point in time. And the Europeans brought their distillation and fermentation procedures to this country.
Cachaça subsequently was a perfected version of Cacho but made with a different plant base that was widely available in Brazil. The name Cachaça coming from sugarcane makes reference to the Portuguese spirit.
FAQs
Is Cachaça like white rum?
No, Cachaça is a light spirit made from sugar cane juice. It differs since it is not made from sugarcane molasses but the cane juice itself. Cachaça lends it a more floral, grassy, herbaceous flavor profile than its rum counterparts.
Is Cachaça stronger than rum?
Cachaça is traditionally distilled to a much lower alcoholic strength than rum. Moreover, Cachaça which is unaged is labeled Branca in English. Cachaça the spirit is aged in casks. Oak is the most common material used, but distillers also often choose local hardwoods like Amendoim peanut and bravo.
Can we consume Cachaça straight?
More often than not, Cachaça is most often served as a Caipirinha. Or used as a rum substitute in cocktails like Daiquiris. Nevertheless, good quality aged Cachaça can be consumed neat or on the rocks.
Does Cachaça expire?
No. Just like most distilled spirits, Cachaça doesn’t go off even after being opened. Provided a bottle is kept at room temperature, well-closed, and away from sunlight. Cachaça would last for an indefinite period of time.