Caipirinha

Caipirinha

IBA official cocktail
National cocktail of Brazil
Type	Cocktail
Base spirit	Cachaça
Served	On the rocks: poured over ice
Standard garnish	lime
Standard drinkware	Old fashioned glass
IBA specified ingredients†	5.0 cl (1⅔ fl oz) Cachaça ½ Fresh Lime cut into 4 wedges 2 teaspoons sugar
Preparation	Place lime and sugar into old fashioned glass and muddle (mash the two ingredients together using a muddler or a wooden spoon). Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the Cachaça.
Notes	A wide variety of fresh fruits can be used in place of lime. In the absence of cachaça, vodka can be used.

Caipirinha (pronounced [kaj.pi.'ri.ɲɐ]) is Brazil's national cocktail made with Cachaça (pronounced IPA: [ˌkaˈʃasɐ]), sugar and lime. Cachaça is Brazil's most common distilled alcoholic beverage. Like rum, it is made from sugarcane, however, cachaça is made from sugarcane juice whereas rum is made from molasses, a byproduct of the sugar refining process. It is common to substitute vodka or rum in drinks made with cachaça, including the Caipirinha.

Popularity

The Caipirinha is well known both inside Brazil and around the world. The beverage is the national drink of Brazil, and is enjoyed in restaurants, bars, and many households throughout Brazil. The International Bartender Association has designated it as one of their Official Cocktails, adding to its worldwide recognition and appeal. The IBA has labeled the Caipirinha as one of the 50 greatest drinks of all time. Outside of Brazil, particularly in the United States, the availability of cachaça is limited, so few bars serve the drink.

Now that first-rate brands of Cachaça are available outside of Brazil, the popularity of cachaça and its related drinks are increasing, especially in the United States.

Name

The word "Caipirinha" itself is the diminutive version of the word "caipira", which refers to someone from the countryside, being an almost exact equivalent of the American English hillbilly. The word may be used as either a masculine or a feminine noun, but when referring to this drink it is only feminine (usage of diminutives is conspicuous in Brazil). However, a Brazilian hardly ever thinks of a "country person" when ordering a "Caipirinha". In the mind of a Brazilian, the word "Caipirinha" is mostly associated with the drink itself. The only circumstance in which the word would be used with its original meaning would be to refer to a young hillbilly woman, but this usage of the word caipira is now seen as very offensive.

Variations

Caipiroska, basically same as caipirinha, except with vodka instead of Cachaça

Although Caipirinha is made out of Cachaça, lime, ice and sugar, this name is also given to describe a style of drink. Thus you may hear of such drinks as "Passionfruit Caipirinha", etc. Most variations arise from the unavailability of some ingredient:

• Fresh fruits used to create variations of Caipirinha might be lime, tangerine, grapefruit, kiwi, passion fruit, pineapple, berries, grapes, and caju. Occasionally dairy or soy milk products are added for a creamy variation. All these variations are usually given the generic name of Batida.
• Caipirovka, Caipirovska, Caipivodka or how the IBA calls it: Caipiroska - with vodka.
• Caipirissima - with rum.
• Caipisakê - with sake and tangerines instead of limes.
• Caipirão - with Licor Beirão (Portuguese liqueur)

Technically, Caipirinha is a specific type of Batida and the word should not be used to indicate other drinks with fruit juice.

See also

• Cocktails with cachaça
• List of cocktails with cachaça
• Cachaça
• List of Brazilian dishes

External links

• Recipe of Caipirinha
• Caipirinha Recipe
• Many more Caipirinha Recipes
• How to Make A Caipirinha on Google Video
• Making a Caipirinha on YouTube
• Caipirinha Instructions in flash
• Another Caipirinha Recipe with step by step photos
• CocktailTeam.net