[1] Braziian Sangria, made with cachaça substituting for vodka or other spirit (photos #1, #2, #3 © Novo Fogo).

[2] Silver (prata) cachaça is not aged; it “rests” in stainless steel vats before bottling. It is also called branca (white), clássica (classic) or tradicional (traditional).

[3] Novo Fogo’s Chameleon cachaça is categorized as an amarela or yellow cachaça. It’s aged in wood, which causes the color to change from clear to yellow. Amarela cachaça can also be called ouro (gold) or envelhecida (aged) cachaça.

[4] It’s easy to turn honey into honey syrup, a simple syrup. The recipe is at right (photo © National Honey Board).

Mention cachaça and most savvy imbibers would respond: Caipirinha!

Cachaça (cah-SHA-sah) is Brazil’s national spirit, and the Caipirinha (kai-puh-REEN-ya, photo #2) is one of the easiest cocktails to make. We’ve included the recipe below.

There are numerous fine cachaca brands available in the U.S. One we’ve been enjoying is Novo Fogo (“new fire”), especially their versatile Chameleon Cachaça (photo #3).

It’s aged for one year in repurposed American oak barrels, just long enough to gather nuances of flavor and aroma: a hazelnut nose and sweet-and-spicy herbs in the palate, finishing with some lively citrus.

Novo Fogo also has an award-winning Two-Woods Series (aged in American oak plus Brazilian woods) and single barrel cachacas aged 2, 3 and 5 years. All are affordable gifts for the cachaça lover.

Discover them and more at NovoFogo.com.

We thank them for these two cachaça recipes.
 
 
RECIPE #1: BRAZILIAN RED SANGRIA

This recipe uses honey syrup. The recipe is below.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients with ice. Garnish as desired.

 
RECIPE #2: AGED CAIPIRINHA

You can make a Caipirinha more special by using barrel-aged cachaça (analogous to a reposado tequila—photo #3).

Over the years, numerous variations have appeared. For example, a Caipiroska substitutes vodka for the cachaça, a Caipirissima replaces the cachaça with rum.

Then came the Lemon Caipirinha, the Strawberry Caipirinha, the Whisky Cipirinha, and so on.

Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture did not want the national cocktail to be sullied with other ingredients, so in order to be called a Caipirinha, they published a decree in 2009. Legally, to be called a Caipirinha, the drink can only be made with cachaça, lime and sugar.

They can only enforce the law in Brazil in commercial establishments; so if you feel the need to play with the recipe, go ahead.

This recipe uses aged cachaça, for more layers of flavor.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. MUDDLE the lime in a shaker until the juice is all squeezed out. Add the sugar and muddle to combine.

2. ADD the cachaça and ice, shake, and strain into a glass with ice cubes. Enjoy!

 
RECIPE #3: HONEY SYRUP

Honey syrup is simple syrup that is made with honey instead of table sugar. It’s the same 1:1 recipe as simple syrup.
 
Ingredients For 1 Cup

*Don’t have superfine sugar? Just pulse table sugar in a food processor or spice mill to superfine consistency.*

†There is a difference between stored and aged cachaça. Stored cachaça is kept in wooden barrels for a non-specified period of time. Aged cachaça must contain more than 50% of cachaça that is at least one year old, and rested in barrels of up to 700 liters. The highest categories of aged cachaça are Premium, aged for a period not shorter than one year, and Extra Premium, aged for a period of than three years or longer. Both of these must contain 100% of cachaça aged in wood barrels.