Recipe Caipirinha

How to make Caipirinha

Preparation time5 min  

Ingredients: 

• cachaca
• lime
• Brown sugar

Other ingredients: 

• Crushed ice

The origin of the Caipirinha dates back to the beginning of the 20th century in Sao Paulo and it is a drink that the doctors of the time prescribed to combat the terrible Spanish Flu of 1918. The ingredients of the traditional caipirinha were cachaça, garlic, honey and lime, and Dr. Paulo Vieira is credited with substituting sugar for garlic and honey, to create a cheaper version with which to treat workers.

More than a hundred years later, the caipirinha is one of the most consumed cocktails in the world, especially in hot and tropical places. The base that carries the caipirinha is cachaça, a liquor that is made with fermented sugar cane and that is believed to have already been made in the times of the Egyptian pharaohs.

The caipirinha is, since 2003, the official drink of Brazil, since its ingredients have a very low cost, which is why it is widely consumed throughout the country. Its name comes from the “caipira” who were the field workers, who popularized the drink, since it has a very pleasant and refreshing flavor, something necessary to mitigate the long hours in the field.

The preparation of the Caipirinha is very simple, to begin with you must wash the limes well and cut them into segments or dice, so that the fruits release as much juice as possible. We continue placing the pieces in a tall and wide glass, add a tablespoon of brown sugar and, with a mortar macerator, we crush the limes so that they release more juice and this mixes with the sugar from the bottom.

Next, fill the glass with crushed ice or ice cubes and pour in the cachaça to taste. In Brazil, the glass is filled to the top with liquor, but in this case the content will depend on the taste of the consumer. If you want a smoother cup, you can add less.

To finish, you can decorate the edge of the glass with sugar, with a piece of lemon or with two straws. In this sense, experts recommend drinking it with a straw, since the pieces of lime release pieces of pulp and with the straws it is possible to access the liquor that remains at the bottom of the glass.

The caipirinha is a very versatile combination in which the cachaça can be replaced by almost any liquor. For example, one of the most appreciated mixtures is the “caipiroska” that substitutes cachaça for vodka and the caipirissima in which the base will be white rum.

You see, the caipirinha is a very simple cocktail to make, with a very sweet and refreshing taste, perfect to enjoy a summer afternoon on a sofa or in your bed, lying on the best natural latex mattress.