Brazil: Caipirinhas

Descriptions of Brazilian cuisine are never complete without a mention of caipirinhas, the popular national cocktail served anywhere from fancy dining establishments to beachside stands and bars and clubs. Caipirinhas come in many varieties, so it’s entirely possible that you could be at a table with five other people, all of whom ordered a caipirinha, but none who have the same drink.

This hard-to-pronounce drink is exceedingly simple to make; the recipe calls for fruit, sugar, and alcohol only. The traditional drink calls for cachaça, the most common distilled alcohol in Brazil, but modern varieties substitute vodka or sake (and the alcohol content decreases with each substitution). Technically, if it's made with vodka, it's called a caipiroska, but to me, it's always a caipirinha. To prepare, simply choose your fruit (strawberry, kiwi, pineapple, passion fruit, and lime are popular options) and mash it in the cup with sugar, add ice, the liquor, and shake.

I first discovered the caipirinha at Boteca São Bento, a fine establishment only a few blocks away from our hotel in São Paulo. We went out on a work night for a quick drink and my selection was a lime caipirinha made with cachaça. The first sip practically knocked me out of my chair, and my friend Ryan noted after 5 minutes that my drink was still at the same level. Chacaça is incredibly strong, and despite the lime flavor and sugar intended to dilute the flavor, it took a few sips to grow accustomed to the intensity (wait – is that growing accustomed or feeling the affects of the alcohol?). After that first drink, I learned the merits of trying new things and branched out to other liquors and fruits. Some combinations I’ve tried are grape & sake, strawberry & vodka, kiwi & sake, and kiwi & vodka. I’ve also had a sip of kiwi + strawberry & sake and passion fruit & cachaça, but the overall winner is definitely kiwi & vodka. Maybe it’s the fact that the beautiful lime green color really makes you feel like you’re in a tropical location, maybe it’s the taste of the kiwi, or maybe it’s a combination of the two; in any case, it’s my preferred drink and I intend to make my own version as soon as I get home and can get my hands on some good kiwis.