The whole world will diving into the 2016 Summer Olympics tonight as the games kick off with the Opening Ceremony. For better or worse, the next few weeks in Rio will be interesting to watch. We’re hoping for the best, but to hedge our bets, we’ll be drinking copious amounts of cachaça either way. Cachaça is distilled from fresh pressed sugar cane juice and is the national spirit of Brazil.
As such, we’ll also be drinking copious amounts of caipirinhas, the refreshing, cachaça-laced drink that is Brazil’s national cocktail. We invite you to do the same. So below: three versions of the caipirinha, from the classic to the not-classic.
CAIPIRINHA
by Backbeat, Austin
2 oz Avua Prata Cachaça
3 rough cut sugar cubes
2-3 lime wedges
Muddle the lime wedges and sugar cubes in a cocktail tin to release the juice and citrus oils from the fruit. Add the cachaça and ice. Shake vigorously and dump the entire contents of the shaker into a double old fashioned glass.
REGENCY CAIPIRINHA
by Loews Regency, NYC
2 oz Cachaça
1 oz simple syrup
5 lime wedges
10 blueberries
10 mint leaves
Build in a glass. Muddle lime, blueberry and mint with simple syrup. Add cachaça and crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.
CASCADIAN CAIPBEERINHA
2 oz Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça
1/2 oz agave nectar
Half of one lime
Half of one lemon
Your favorite Northwest IPA
Cut lime and lemon halves in slices, toss them into the glass and muddle. Add the agave nectar, then fill the glass with ice. Add cachaça and pour everything into a shaker. Shake it hard, then pour everything (including the ice) back into the same glass, and top with IPA.
