The Caipirinha: Rio in a glass |
The heat and humidity have arrived. Now's the perfect time to slip on your Havianas and cool off with a caipirinha, preferably made while grooving to classic bossa nova by Tom Jobim. The caipirinha is Brazil's national drink, fortified with cachaca, or sugar cane alcohol. Although in Brazil, you can buy a bottle for as little as $3, in the US, you'll have to dish out about $15. Cachaca packs quite a punch, so pace yourself, kids. You can substitue vodka for the cachaca. [Then this drink becomes a Caipiroska.]
Makes 1
Toss the muddled lime, simple syrup and cachaca into a drink shake. Shake, shake, shake until combined, then pour into a short glass, over ice.
I modified this caipirinha recipe from my first cookbook. Back then, I was a lazy mixologist and used granulated sugar in all my cocktails. Since then, I've become a simple syrup fanatic, so I changed this recipe to include it. You can buy simple syrup, but it's easy and less costly to make yourself. Not only is it a must for cocktails; it's also great to sweeten sorbets and iced tea or to pour over Mediterranean and Middle Eastern sweets like baklava.
Caipirinha
- 1 lime, cut into 8-10 pieces
- 3 T simple syrup*
- 1 1/2 jiggers cachaca
- A few ice cubes
Makes 1
Muddle the lime very well, in order to squeeze out all the juice and the flavorful oils in the skin.
Toss the muddled lime, simple syrup and cachaca into a drink shake. Shake, shake, shake until combined, then pour into a short glass, over ice.
*To make simple syrup: simply combine 1 part sugar with 1 part water. Stir, bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes until the sugar completely dissolves. Chill before using.
4 comments:
My favorite!
Sounds wonderfully refreshing! I love Bossa Nova
Simple syrup is so easy to make. I cna't believe anyone buys it! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for reminding me how easy it is to make simple syrup...no more gritty drinks for me
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