- Cachaça60 ml
- Limecut into small wedges1
- White sugarwhite cane sugar4 teaspoons
Method
Place the lime and sugar in a double old fashioned glass and muddle gently. Fill the glass with cracked ice and add the cachaça. Stir gently to combine the ingredients.
Garnish
No garnish.
IBA note. Official variations: Caipiroska (vodka), Caipiríssima (rum) and Caipirão (Licor Beirão) in place of the cachaça.
Author's version
- Cachaça50 to 60 ml55 ml
- Sugar3 spoonfuls
- Limejuice of 1, plus ½ cut into pieces1½
Method
Shake in a shaker or muddle directly in the glass.
Variations
- CaipiroskaVodka in place of the cachaça; goes well with strawberry, pineapple, orange.
- CaipiríssimaRum in place of the cachaça.
History
According to the most widely accepted version, it was born in the interior of São Paulo state, in the Piracicaba region, around 1918, out of a home remedy of lime, garlic and honey with cachaça used against the Spanish flu. Without the garlic and honey, and with sugar to cut the lime's acidity, it became a party drink. The name is the diminutive of caipira (someone from the countryside); some also see a kinship with the poncha of Madeira.
Sources: official IBA spec and Wikipedia.
Flavor
· ·
Pairs with
barbecue · bar snacks and charcuterie · seafood
The acidity refreshes and cuts through fat.