Caipirinha
(Brazilian cachaça-lime cocktail)
Image by Wikipedia: Christian
The national cocktail of Brazil, the caipirinha (kai-pi-REE-nyuh) is a heady mix of lime juice and cachaça (kah-SHAH-suh), a brandy-like alcohol distilled from sugarcane juice. Sugar takes the edge off the lime and makes throwing these drinks back just a little too easy.
1 serving
Ingredients
- Lime, halved, each half cut into 4 wedges -- 1
- Sugar -- 1 or 2 tablespoons
- Crushed ice
- Cachaça -- 2 to 3 ounces
Method
- Put 4 to 6 lime wedges into an old-fashioned glass and sprinkle with the sugar. Use a muddler or wooden spoon to crush together the limes and sugar to release the lime's juice.
- Pack the glass with crushed ice and pour in the cachaça. Stir well, garnish with a couple more lime wedges and serve.
Caipirinha Variations
- Add more or less sugar according to your taste.
- Instead of stirring the drink at the end, cover the glass with the bottom of a cocktail shaker and shake well for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Caipiroska or Caipiroshka: Use vodka instead of cachaça.
- Caipifruta: Substitute crushed fresh fruit for the lime juice. Try strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, mango, tangerines. Use about 3 tablespoons. Cut back on the sugar.
- Use brown sugar instead of white sugar.
