It's cold, it's wet, grey and
miserable. Don't shoot the messenger.
Don't you just dream of being somewhere like, o,
say Brazil, sipping ice-cold caipirinhas on an endless beach besides
the tanned and the beautiful?
Well, if Mohammed will not go to the mountain, then the caipirinhas
must come to him. They might seem agonisingly last season, but done
well, the humble caipirinha is sheer sunshine in a glass.
Vital to making it well, is a half-decent cachaça. But with
only 1% of the 1.5 billion litres produced making it out of Brazil,
here's our pick of the best winter-killers available.
Tall, dark and handsome... Germana
Single Barrel £26.99 from specialitydrinks.com
Even if the stunningly powerful Germana Unaged is hard to come by,
their Single Barrel offering is still a hefty step above most other
cachaças on the market. Coffee-sweet, with soft brown sugar
and ripe, dark fruits on the palate, it is great sipped but makes
a caipirinha that tastes like sunset itself.
The fruity favourite... Cachaça
Ouro Terra Dourada
£20.39 from thedrinkshop.com
Young and vibrant, the golden Terra Dourada has a deliciously creamy
texture, travelling from gooey sweetness to vanilla spice, via fresh
strawberries and golden sugar. In cocktails, it goes superbly with
fruits, and is definitely one for those of a sweeter inclination.
The distinguished Frenchman... Leblon
£25.49 from specialitydrinks.com
The new, posh entry into the category, Leblon is shipped all the way
to France (cough, carbon footprint) where it's rested in vintage
cognac barrels. The complex cachaça that emerges is hardly
traditional but, with its complex overtones of grapes and citrus pith,
certainly mixes a subtle, unique drink.
The pinnacle of nature... Terra
Vermelha £33.60 from gerrys.uk.com
Rare in that it is certified fully organic, Terra Vermelha is absolutely
wonderful. Intense, with rich notes of ripe pineapple and melon, subtle
hints of cloves and only a gentle, rounded oakiness, this punchy,
well-structured cachaça makes a caipirinha like sun-drenched
green sugar fields in a glass.
The safe bet... Sagatiba Velha
£22.99 from specialitydrinks.com
Whilst the more common Sagatiba Pura produces caipirinhas that might
as well be made of vodka, it's golden cousin's extra barrel-time
lends it pleasant notes of vanilla and gentle woodiness, whilst its
mildness and brevity mask the characteristic rawness of cachaça
that can occasionally offend.
And
if you don't have a clue what to do with this fine spirit, check out
our UJ Caipirinha Recipe. Happy drinking.
