Today our quest brings us to Brasil. There is an interesting story on the Business Week website about cachaça (pronounced "ka-sha-sa") being the next tequila of the world. It is Brasil's national drink. A liquor fermented and distilled directly from freshly pressed sugar cane. You might think that cachaça would be more likely to become the next rum of the world, but guess again. Due to the current success of tequila around the globe, the Brazilian's are aiming high and making an honest effort to skip right over rum and compete with tequila. Cachaça as a finished product is sometimes known as "aguardente" (burning water) or "engasga gato"(cat choker)and varies from 76 proof to 96 proof. Caipirinha is the signature drink for cachaça. It is made of half a lime, quartered, and two teaspoons of granulated sugar muddled together, two ounces of cachaça, a splash of club soda, and ice. The cocktail is extremely refreshing and potent, although it doesn't have quite the kick of tequila.
There are thousands of brands of cachaça made in Brazil by small local distillers on up to regional giants such as Cachaça 51, the country's best-selling brand. In the U.S., however,Pitu, the product of a 75-year-old family business from the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, is the top seller. We have had the pleasure of trying cachaça at a local South American style restaurant. If you are in the mood for rum, it is an amazing alternative made in a country of amazing people. However, we can not imagine that it could become the "next tequila". As all of us tequila lovers know, there is nothing in the world that can replace an amazing glass of Don Julio 1942 or any of the three Corzo varieties. It will be fun to watch the cachaça story though. When it comes to beaches, food, dance & music, and football among other things, Brazil is usually able to give the world community a run for its money.
Get a bottle of cachaça and put it to the test.
