Caipirinha
Caipirinha (Portuguese pronunciation: [kajpiˈɾĩj̃ɐ]) is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça (sugarcane hard liquor), sugar, and lime.[1] The drink is prepared by mixing the fruit and the sugar together, then adding the liquor. This can be made in a single large glass to be shared among people, or in a larger jar, from which it is served in individual glasses.
IBA official cocktail | |
---|---|
Type | Cocktail |
Base spirit | |
Served | On the rocks: poured over ice |
Standard garnish | sugarcane, lime (ingredient) |
Standard drinkware | |
IBA specified ingredients | |
Preparation | Place lime and sugar into a double old fashioned glass and muddle gently. Fill the glass with cracked ice and add Cachaça. Stir gently to involve ingredients. |
Notes | Caipiroska – instead of cachaça use vodka |
Caipirinha recipe at International Bartenders Association |
History
Although the origin of the drink is unknown, one account says it came about around 1918 in the region of Alentejo in Portugal, with a popular recipe made with lemon, garlic, and honey, indicated for patients with the Spanish flu. Another account is that Caipirinha is based on Poncha, an alcoholic drink from Madeira, Portugal.[2] The main ingredient is aguardente de cana, which is made from sugar cane. Sugar cane production was switched from Madeira to Brazil by the Portuguese as they needed more land to plant it on. Before this people in Madeira had already created aguardente de cana, which was the ancestor to cachaça.[3]
Today, it is still used as a tonic for the common cold. Commonly, practitioners add some distilled spirits to home remedies to expedite the therapeutic effect. Aguardente was commonly used. "Until one day, someone decided to remove the garlic and honey. Then added a few tablespoons of sugar to reduce the acidity of the lime. The ice came next, to ward off the heat," explains Carlos Lima, executive director of IBRAC (Brazilian Institute of Cachaça).[4][5]
According to historians, the caipirinha was invented by landowning farmers in the region of Piracicaba, the interior of the State of São Paulo during the 19th century as a local drink for 'high standard' events and parties (parties at Barão de Serra Negra palace), a reflection of the strong sugarcane culture in the region.[6] Original recipe use a kind of Lemon called "galeguinho", a small yellow/green lemon very common in São Paulo countryside houses backyards. Currently it is made with a bigger green lemon called Tahiti lemon, a specie of lemon more spread around the country markets.
The caipirinha is the strongest national cocktail of Brazil,[7] and is imbibed in restaurants, bars, and many households throughout the country. Once almost unknown outside Brazil, the drink became more popular and more widely available in recent years, in large part due to the rising availability of first-rate brands of cachaça outside Brazil.[8] The International Bartenders Association designated it as one of its Official Cocktails, as a Contemporary Classic.[9]
Name
The word caipirinha is the diminutive of the word caipira, which in Brazilian Portuguese refers to someone from the countryside (specifically, someone from the rural parts of south-central Brazil), similar to US English hillbilly or the Lowland Scots teuchter. Caipira is a two-gender noun. The diminutive mostly-refers to the drink, in which case it is a feminine noun.
Variations
- Although Brazilian law (Decree 6.871[10] based on Normative Ruling 55, from Oct. 31, 2008)[11] as well as the International Bartenders Association (IBA)[9] allow the use of the name caipirinha for the version with lime only, the term is often used to describe any cachaça-and-fruit-juice drink with the fruit's name (e.g., a passionfruit caipirinha, kiwifruit caipirinha or strawberry caipirinha).[12][13][14][15]
- Caipifruta is a very popular caipirinha drink in Brazil, consisting of cachaça, crushed fresh fruits (either singly or in combination), and crushed ice. The most popular fresh fruits used to create caipifrutas are tangerine, lime, kiwifruit, passion fruit, pineapple, lemon, grapes, mango, cajá (Spondias mombin fruit), and caju (cashew fruit).
Derivations
There are many derivations of caipirinha in which other spirits are substituted for cachaça. Some include:
- Caipiroska is the usual alternative, made with vodka[16]
- Sakerinha is a variant made with sake[17]
- Caipinheger is another variation made using Steinhäger.[18]
- Caipirão is another Portuguese variation made using Licor Beirão instead of cachaça; the liquor is very sweet, so no sugar is used.[19]
- A variation from Italy is made using Campari instead of cachaça.[20]
- Caipirissima is the alternative made with rum.[21]
See also
- Cocktails with cachaça
- List of cocktails with cachaça
- Ti' Punch – similar French Caribbean cocktail, made with rhum agricole, a fermented sugar cane juice similar to Cachaça
- Daiquiri – similar Cuban cocktail, made with rum
- List of Brazilian dishes
- List of Brazilian drinks
- Mojito
- Sour (cocktail)
References
- "Lista de Publicações". Senado.gov.br. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
- "My Round: Madeira mixes things with the best". Retrieved 2012-08-22.
- "SUGAR´S ROUTE IN MADEIRA". Retrieved 2012-12-02.
- "Casa e Jardim - NOTÍCIAS - A história da caipirinha" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
Até que um dia alguém resolveu tirar o alho e o mel. Depois, acrescentaram umas colheres de açúcar para reduzir a acidez do limão. O gelo veio em seguida, para espantar o calor
- "Receitas de Drinques". Drinquepedia (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on September 27, 2013.
- (in Portuguese) Cascudo, Luis da Camara (2006). "Prelúdio da cachaça" - Global Editora
- Mackay, Jordan (August 10, 2006). "Made in Brazil". 7x7 Magazine. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009..
- Willey, Rob (February 2006). "Everyday with Rachael Ray". Cane and Able. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
The caipirinha—a sour-sweet combination of crushed limes, sugar, and cachaça— become the darling of American bartenders, and first-rate cachaça is at last finding a place on American liquor-store shelves.
- "IBA Official Cocktails". International Bartenders Association. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- "Decree 6871/2009" (in Portuguese). Brazilian Republic Presidency's Civil Office. 2009. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- "Ruling Instruction No. 55 from 31/10/2008" (in Portuguese). Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA). 2008. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- "CAIPIRINHA DE MARACUJÁ" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Destilaria de Cachaça Maison Leblon. 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
- "9 receitas de caipirinha de kiwi para quem ama um sabor diferente" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Receiteria. 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
- "Caipirinha de morango: como fazer receita do drink com a fruta e pimenta-rosa" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Portal O Tempo. 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
- "Caipirinha de abacaxi: 10 receitas que vão transformar seu dia em uma festa" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Dicas de Mulher. 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
- Wolfinger, Alejandro Morales,Eric. "Caipiroska Recipe". Bon Appetit. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- "Sakerinha: A Japanese-Brazilian Fusion Recipe". Portuguese For Spanish Speakers.
- "Top 10 Brazilian cocktails - Brasilbar - Brasilbar". www.brasilbar.com. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- "Caipirão Promotional website". Caipirão. 2005–2007. Archived from the original on 2012-06-21. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
- "Camparinha Cocktail Recipe with Picture". Complete Cocktails. 2013.
- "Caipirissima Cocktail Recipe - Difford's Guide".
External links
- Media related to Caipirinha at Wikimedia Commons
- Caipirinha at Wikibooks