Caipirinha Recipe: Brazil's National Cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz cachaçae.g. Ypióca · Leblon · Sagatiba · Velho Barreiro · Pitú
1 lime cut into small wedges
4 tsp sugar IBA amount; many bartenders use 2 to 3

Garnish: Lime wedge · Ice: Crushed ice

Method

Cut the lime into small wedges and remove the white pith from the center.
Place lime and sugar in a rocks glass.
Muddle firmly to release juice and peel oils, without shredding the peel.
Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour over the cachaça.
Stir briefly from the bottom and top with more crushed ice.

Watch it made

Caipirinha

Taste

Tart and sweet, with bright lime oil and the fresh, sugarcane character of cachaça. Strong but very drinkable over crushed ice.

History and origin

The Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, and its roots are older than any bar menu. One widely told story places its origin in the countryside of São Paulo state around 1918, where a remedy of lime, garlic and honey with cachaça was given during the Spanish flu. Over time, the garlic and honey gave way to sugar and ice. Like most folk origins, this story is hard to prove.

The name comes from caipira, a word for a country person, so caipirinha roughly means little country girl or little country drink. Brazilian regulations even define the Caipirinha as a drink made with cachaça, lime and sugar. It entered the IBA list and today is mixed everywhere, from beach kiosks in Rio to cocktail bars in Berlin.

Bartender tips

Removing the white core of the lime prevents bitterness.
Taste before serving: limes vary, so adjust sugar between 2 and 4 teaspoons.
Use unaged (prata) cachaça for a fresh, grassy style, or a lightly aged one for more roundness.

Variations

Caipiroska: The same drink made with vodka instead of cachaça.
Caipiríssima: Made with white rum instead of cachaça.
Fruit Caipirinha: Muddle passion fruit, strawberries or pineapple with the lime for a fruity twist.