How To Make A Caipirinha – The Best-Kept Secret of Brasil

Some people feel sick the morning after too many alcoholic beverages from the night before, but the Caipirinha was created to ward off just the opposite!  Legend has it that around 1918 in São Paulo, Brasil, the caipirinha was derived for patients of the Spanish flu.  As it used to be common to include alcohol in home remedies to aid in the healing process, the original recipe featured cachaça (sugar cane liquor), garlic, honey, and a lemon or lime.  Later on, the drink was altered – the garlic and honey were removed and sugar was added in order to reduce the acidity of the citrus.

Today, some people still use caipirinhas to get rid of a cold, but most celebrate it as the national drink of Brasil and one of the most refreshing drinks to indulge upon when sitting on the beautiful beaches of Copacabana or Ipanema!

In Brasil alone, over 1.5 BILLION liters of cachaça are consumed annually!  Sadly, only 1% of cachaça is exported, most of which goes to selfish Germany.  They already have copious amounts of delicious beer, but have to be greedy and hog the cachaça too!

If your local liquor store is lucky enough to carry cachaça, then make sure to try out the recipe below.  If they don’t carry it, then you can substitute the cachaça for rum, or make a caipiroska by substituting vodka instead. Either way, you’re in for a treat!

How to Make a Caipirinha

Ingredients

• 2 ounces of cachaça (sugar cane liquor)
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 lime

Preparation

Slice the lime in half-inch wedges and remove the white part at the core to avoid bitterness.  Next, add the sugar to an old-fashioned glass, pour in the limes, and muddle them to release the juice.  Then fill the glass with ice and pour in the cachaça.  Finally, stir the mix well, garnish with a slice of lime, and serve!

The word “caipira” refers to someone from the countryside, similar to the American version of “hillbilly”. However, while hillbillies might pride themselves on a little bit of southern moonshine, you’ll be in a different world when you’re sipping on a caipirinha on the crisp, cool beaches of Brasil, gazing at the stars under a little bit of moonlight yourself.  If you’re not in Brasil, just close your eyes and use your imagination… it’ll practically be the same thing!