Simon Alam's Caipirinha

Yesterday we met Simon Alam, the man handling the bottles at Merc Bar. Today he treats us the Caipirinha, a drink he was kind enough to share some history on: "The Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail. It's made with cachaca, the most common distilled alcoholic beverage. While rum is made...

By Zach Fowle

July 23, 2010

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Yesterday we met Simon Alam, the man handling the bottles at Merc Bar. Today he treats us the Caipirinha, a drink he was kind enough to share some history on:

"The Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail. It's made with cachaca, the most common distilled alcoholic beverage. While rum is made with molasses, cachaca is the result of the fermentation of the sugar cane juice distilled afterwards."

Its cooling, refreshing lime flavor mixes with the dank, earthy quality of the cachaca, making a cocktail that's perfect for drinkers bored with the average margarita or mojito.

(get the recipe after the jump)

The ingredients
1 lime, sliced
2 tbsp sugar
2 oz. Cachaca

How to make it
Muddle the lime and sugar in a bucket. Pour in cachaca and ice. Shake very well. Pour everything into a lowball glass and enjoy the limey, boozy Brazilian goodness.

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