May 13, 2008
With the recent explosion of Cachaça and its cocktail sidekick, the
Caipirinha, more and more bartenders and
home entertainers are wondering how to make the perfect Caipirinha.
How should I cut the limes? Superfine sugar? Can I use simple syrup? Shaken or stirred? Club soda? How
long do I muddle? Cachaça?
Like any great cocktail, art and skill are required to make a great Caipirinha. Too much of any one
thing – lime, sugar, or Cachaça - and the delicious concoction from Brazil will be anything but
delicious. Too sour, too sweet, or too much Cachaça, and you have a cocktail out of balance. And like
life, it’s all about balance for any great cocktail.
Steve Luttmann and Gerry Schweitzer, the founders of Leblon Cachaca recommend that you start with the basics: What is a Caipirinha,
and how is it made? The national cocktail of Brazil, the Caipirinha is a combination of muddled lime, sugar, and Cachaça served on
the rocks in a rocks glass. Take a good size lime cut it into 8 wedges, and place 4 wedges in a rocks glass. Add two teaspoons of
sugar, mash the lime and sugar with a muddler for 15 seconds, and add crushed ice up to the rim of the glass. Add two ounces of
Cachaça, stir thoroughly, and garnish with a lime wedge. Sounds pretty simple, right?
Just like a Margarita, Mojito, or a Cosmopolitan, there are a lot of mistakes that
are made in preparing a Caipirinha. We at Leblon Cachaça have “seen it all,” from
the New York bartender who takes a single lime wedge and squeezes it between their
thumb and middle finger into the glass, to the hot Hollywood nightclub that uses a
thick raw sugar that doesn't dissolve in the cocktail when muddled, to the
restaurant in Philly who uses the sour mix gun with a twist of lemon. Easy mistakes
to make, but easily avoided once you learn the Caipirinha basics, and adapt the
recipe to fit your needs.
Here are simple thoughts that may help you in perfecting your Caipirinha:
- First, use lime. Cut them fresh, as pre-cut limes will lose flavor and juiciness.
And don't use sour mix. (by the way, the same rules apply to a Margarita – why use a
mix when fresh tastes so much better?). Wedges are more ‘authentic' than wheels, but
some prefer wheels because they look better. We've seen people cut the wedges into
cubes, which arguably makes the muddling easier, as well as the stirring. Many
recommend cutting out the bitter middle pith from the lime.
- The goal of muddling is to extract the lime juice from the limes. Fifteen seconds
is about right – less than fifteen seconds, and you are guaranteed not to have
enough lime juice in the glass. More than fifteen seconds, and the lime juice starts
becoming bitter (from the interior wall of the rind, or the middle spine if you left
it in). Obviously, if you don't have a muddler, any rigid wooden or plastic device
with a cylindrical shape will do . However, you can now get a muddler just about
anywhere.
- The traditional Brazilian recipe for a Caipirinha calls for superfine sugar. Like
'sweet tea' in the Southern U.S., superfine sugar dissolves much better than regular
sugar. Muddling the sugar granules with the lime wedges also extracts the oils from
the lime zest, adding more lime aroma and flavor to your Caipirinha. However, we
have learned that many bartenders prefer using simple syrup to sugar, and for one
simple reason: simple syrup dissolves immediately in the Caipirinha. It's a standard
staple of any professional or home bar. It guarantees that the sugar will be
thoroughly dissolved and mixed in the cocktail, and will not collect at the bottom
of the glass.
- Shaken or stirred? This is definitely an interesting argument. The Brazilian
purist will insist on stirring for one simple reason: that's what they do in Brazil.
It's almost like a ritual. The bartender muddles the lime, adds the Cachaça and ice,
and gives the Caipirinha a few stirs with a spoon and adds a swivel stick or straw.
The customer receives the Caipirinha, gives it a few stirs, takes a sip, and begins
the process of letting the Caipirinha ‘melt and meld' while enjoying its evolution
to perfection. This is kind of cool, and if you're a Brazilian purist, or a
Brazilian, you get it. However, the reality is many of us want a great tasting
Caipirinha perfect right from the start, and shaking is the optimal way to ensure
the mixing and melding of all the ingredients. No questions asked.
- Cachaça! The key ingredient. Without Cachaça, a Caipirinha simply would not
exist. It's like making a Margarita with Rum, or a Cosmo with Tequila. A Caipirinha,
the national cocktail of Brazil, is made with Cachaça, the national spirit of
Brazil. Substitute the Cachaça with Rum or Vodka, and it becomes something else –
not just in name, but in taste, flavor, and culture. The uniqueness of the Cachaça –
the lively aroma of the fresh cane and the fruity flavor mixing with the lime – is
what makes the Caipirinha great.
- As you've probably figured out and seen on various cocktail menus and
restaurants, the Caipirinha has a lot of legs. Sure, the lime version is the
classic, and it should be – the perfect combination of the sweet, the sour and the
fruit. However, there is a lot that can be created and explored substituting or
adding alternative fruits to the recipe. Think about the array of fresh fruits that
you can find, and which ones are your favorites, and you have some great Fresh Fruit
Caipirinha options. In Brazil, some of the most popular are passion fruit
(maracuja), pineapple (abacaxi), mixed berries (frutas vermelhas), and grape (uva)
Caipirinhas. However, the list goes on from there: Tangerine, Kiwi, Strawberry,
Raspberry, Blackberry, Orange, Pomegranate, Peach, Grapefruit, Kumquat, and Melon.
Throw in some herbs, like Cilantro, Mint, or even Basil (one of my favorites is
Strawberry and Basil). Try Watermelon - with Cilantro and Red Pepper. Or Pineapple -
with Mint. Or Cucumber with honey and lime. You get the idea.
