Caipirinha... Brazil's National Drink

Caipirinha (pronounced kiy-per-een-ya) is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça (pronounced ka-shah-suh), sugar, lime and ice. Cachaça is Brazil's most common distilled alcohol. Cachaça is common here because it is made from sugarcane, a very cheap and easy thing to produce here.



How do you make a caipirinha?
These directions are obviously for the average joe. If a true caipirinha-maker catches you using these every-day items instead of special "caipirinha tools" for the preparation of the drink... don't tell them I told you how to make it!

Ingredients:
1⅔ fl oz of cachaça
½ Lime cut into 4 wedges
2 teaspoons crystal or refined sugar
2 or 3 ice cubes

Place lime and sugar into old fashioned glass and mash them two together using a wooden spoon. Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the cachaça. Enjoy! (Tip: Watch how much you drink... it's easy to get carried away with this sweet and sour twisted beverage)



Tried this and a bit bored with it now? Try these other variations:

+Caipivodka/ Caipiroska- vodka is substituted for cachaça.

+Caipirissima" is a caipirinha made with rum instead of cachaça

+Caipifruta is a very popular caipirinha drink in Brazil, consisting of cachaça, crushed fresh fruits, condensed milk and crushed ice. We drink this a lot at churrascos, the Brazilian BBQ. The most popular fresh fruits used to create Caipifrutas are tangerine, lime, kiwi fruit, passion fruit, pineapple, lemon, grapes, mango, cajá, and caju (cashew fruit)

+Caipirão is a typical variation from Portugal. It's done using the typical portuguese liqueur Licor Beirão instead of cachaça.

+CaipirItaly is a typical variation from Italy. It's done using Bitter Campari instead of cachaça.

+Caipiroshka is a version from Russia made with vodka.

+Sakerinha is a version made with sake.

+Caipiroska Negra or Black Caspiroshka is made with black vodka instead of cachaça.

+Passionfruit Caipirinha is used to describe cachaça and passionfruit juice