Many margaritas

The SF Chronicle has a story today on variations of the Margarita, with or without triple sec, etc. Funnily enough we were just talking about this at Tales of the Cocktail. I think the consensus among experts like Jacques Bezuidenhout and Robert Hess (who were speaking on the Margarita at Tales) is that if it doesn't have an orange liqueur like triple sec, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier, such as the Tommy's Margarita with just lime, agave nectar, and tequila, it technically isn't a margarita. Still, they argued that it's necessary to explain what the drink is in terms people know at this stage in the game- people who want a Margarita would be hesitant to order a Tequila Gimlet. It's a slippery slope, of course, as most of the same people would say that all the variations of a Martini (Appletini, Summertini, Bacontini) are not Martinis at all. It's funny that the category of foundation drinks that is lime, sugar, and spirit doesn't have its own name. We have the Gimlet, Vodka Gimlet, Daiquiri, Caipirinha, and Tommy's Margarita for gin, vodka, rum, cachaca, and tequila. Each of these drinks allows the base spirit in a cocktail to shine through, just diluting and sweetening it so you don't have to take a mouthful of raw booze.

For every cocktail, a song

Somehow (probably by not owning a functioning television) I missed the whole Bacardi Mojito song/dance craze until someone told me about it a couple of weeks ago. Here it is on YouTube. It's catchy as all get-out so I can see why it's popular. It even has it's own dance moves- let's all do the muddle! I was looking for it today and found this dance video of young kids doing it- at what looks like summer camp or a middle school talent show. A girl plays the bartender in the corner and the kids all do synchronized club moves on stage. OOPS. I'm sure some people on Bacardi's PR staff are jumping out of tall office windows right about now. Today I received a press release for a new branded song- "Caipirinha" by Jinga Boogie, which is sponsored by Leblon. The bottle shows up in the beginning and end of the video, and the record label is listed as "Leblon Productions". It's not a bad idea, since so many people can't pronounce "caipirinha"- and now they can sing it. Some of the lyrics are funny: "You muddle me like ice in your glass My essence changing, you’re crushing everything I want to be reborn in you I want to be new!"

Then later... "You've been with me all this time- I have this inner faith in you You're like sugar to my lime!"

The Tales end

I'm home from Tales of the Cocktail, the annual cocktail convention in New Orleans. This year was fast and confusing and pretty great, and I think it will take me a few days to process it all. I don't really go for the partying that happens at night, as I can do that every day in San Francisco, but for the lectures during the day. Some of the talk highlights for me were:

• The Sagatiba cachaca tasting room session by Jared Brown and Anistasia Miller, in which they talked about several of their new incredibly exciting (you know, to drink nerds) findings on cachaca history and how it predates rum. I think the information in their new Sagatiba-sponsored book will fuel many cachaca stories for the next year.
• Martin Cate's talk on Cocktail Garnish, which was so much fun and had great visuals in the presentation.
• St John Frizell's talk on Charles H. Baker, Jr. Not only was it fascinating to learn more about Baker- a well-read drink writer but largely unknown person- St. John's lecture was hilarious. Did you know he made the first literary reference to the word "Ho"?

For those who attended- what were your favorite talks?

Turning up the heat in the cachaca war

Perhaps by now you've noticed these subtle Cabana cachaca ads that suggest the product is a depilation aid. But seriously, I've seen them around a lot lately, which implies Cabana is increasing its ad spending in an effort to become the leading cachaca. I know Cabana was released on the east coast first but out west Leblon had a big head start on Cabana and Sagatiba. It will be fun to see who comes out on top, or if there is room for all three.

Cachaca at Pampas

Dominic Venegas of FAMILY Spirits Counseling put together a list of mostly cachaca drinks (with a couple of other favorites you'll recognize from some of his SF projects) for the new Palo Alto restaurant Pampas, opening Tuesday. (The website isn't up yet, click here for the address.) I got a sneak preview of the cocktail menu on Friday and I've been salivating all weekend. (I guess you didn't need that mental image- sorry.) Here are some of the drinks from Pampas' menu:

Beleza Hemingway- Beleza Pura cachaça, Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, fresh-squeezed grapefruit Green Fairy Mojito- Beleza Pura cachaça, Absinto Camargo, mint, fresh-squeezed lime Rochina Sazerac-Rochina 5-year single-barrel cachaça, Absinto Camargo, Fee’s orange and Peychauds bitters Sgt. Pepper’s Strawberry Field- Red and black peppercorn-infused Ypioca cachaça, muddled fresh strawberries, basil and lime Alma- Sagatiba Pura cachaça, muddled fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, fresh-squeezed lime, agave nectar Gaucho- Sagatiba cachaça, Canton ginger liqueur, mango, lime, spice

Rumor has it they'll carry 15-20 cachacas initially, with plans to build up the collection in the future. I like how this list isn't totally dedicated to one brand, as many cachaca lists are. You've got the funky aged Rochina, older brand Ypioca (don't know if it's an aged or young expression), and new-school-styled Sagatiba and Beleza Pura. Additionally, this is the first place I've seen using the Absinto Camargo, the Brazilian absinthe that is imported by the same folks as Beleza Pura. Oh yeah, Pampas is a Brazilian Churrascaria restaurant, which may be of interest to those of you who eat.

Aged cachaca

I've had some great aged cachaca that makes me wonder what all the caipirinha fuss is about when you can drink this stuff straight. The New York Times did a nice piece on the subject. I like the taste of wood that's not the traditional American/French oak.

New tricks at Brick

Recently I checked out the new cocktail menu at Brick, designed by Ryan Fitzgerald of Tres Agaves. They keep it simple with just seven specialty drinks. The Elder Sour has been on a few menus around the city and country (bourbon, St. Germain, lemon juice) and the Spiced Pear seems like a popular flavor profile for Winter 07/08 (except he uses pear nectar and plain vodka instead of pear-flavored vodka). I didn't try the Grapefruit Royale though it would be hard to go wrong with sparkling wine, cassis, grapefruit juice and grapefruit bitters, but did have the terrific Floridinho (pronounced "floridinyo") with Beleza Pura cachaca, maraschino, grapefruit, lemon, and agave nectar, served over ice. That one is a total winner and a perfect use for cachaca. I also had a sip of the Mexico 70- a nice take on the French 75 with Partida Reposado and agave nectar instead of gin or brandy. Overall, the drinks were modern, bright and refreshing, tending toward sour or tart end of the spectrum, and seemed to pair well with the food. (I only had a few snacks, but the country-fried mushrooms are a must order.) A short cocktail list, but nicely done.

Cachaca: Bonus Blog Post

My Chronicle story on cachaca was too long (I tend to go on and on and on and on), so here is some extra info that didn't make it into the paper:

Like boutique vodka, cachaca can be purchased in bulk from a major distiller and then aged, diluted or flavored to achieve the desired final taste profile and marketing message.

Sagatiba and Cabana brand cachacas have placed ads in national magazines, though these products have not yet rolled out in the Bay Area. Anheuser-Busch has filed a trademark application on a cachaca named Luzia. Rio-D produces flavored cachacas, and brand Boca Loca is launching flavors in 2008.

Banking on the popularity of the caipirinha, companies have introduced pre-made mixes to save consumers the effort of adding sugar to limes. A Leblon representative said they’re coming out with a caipirinha mix. Stirrings, a brand that produces several instant cocktail mixers, offers a bottled caipirinha mix. Beleza Pura sells a mix with cachaca included so it can be served right out of the refrigerator.

The restaurant Bossa Nova offers nine brands of cachaca, as well as classic, mango, raspberry, passion fruit, kiwi, and pineapple caipirinhas. General Manager Gilberto Duncan says of the new brands, “Agua Luca is really good, it’s one of my favorites. For sipping I like the Ypióca Gold. For mixing I like to use the Leblon.”

Though most restaurants stick to the caipirinha, some new cachaca cocktails are starting to pop up around town. The drink menu at Italian/Brazilian restaurant Mangarosa lists a cosmopolitan made with cachaca instead of vodka, and two flavors of batidas- Brazilian alcoholic milkshakes. Destino offers a drink called The Brazilian with cachaca, Kahlua, and espresso.

Oakland’s À Côté carries “nine or ten” cachacas, and rotates flavored caipirinhas onto the menu when fresh produce like passion fruits are in season. According to Bar Manager Mikey Moreno, they’ve previously served a hot chocolate type drink with cachaca, and a modified cachaca-Fanta drink made with fresh orange juice.

The Latin bar Cantina likely has the largest selection of cachacas in San Francisco with nearly twenty brands, most of them the high-end, and more than half meant for sipping rather than mixing. Currently, they offer three cachaca cocktails- a traditional caipirinha, a blackberry and cabernet caipirinha (that co-owner Duggan McDonnell says is closer to a batida), and a drink called the Milk of Millennia with cachaca, an acai liqueur, mint, ginger, lemon juice, and agave syrup.

McDonnell says he wouldn’t mind placing more modern cachaca-based drinks on the menu, but says he doesn’t think people are familiar enough with cachaca to drop the classic. “Besides,” he says, “to not feature a caipirinha in a Latin bar would be kinda goofy.”

Cachaca in the Chron

Here's today's story in the SF Chronicle on the state of cachaca:

A wave of artisan cachaca hits local bars Camper English, Special to The Chronicle Friday, October 5, 2007

Nipping at the mojito's heels, the caipirinha is poised to become the next Latin cocktail of the moment.

With just three ingredients - a muddled half of lime, sugar and cachaca (kah-SHAH-sah), a Brazilian spirit - a caipirinha is easy enough to make. If a bar or restaurant has a muddler, there is a fair chance the bartender can make a caipirinha.

With so few ingredients in the drink, the choice of cachaca will have a large impact on its flavor, but until recently bartenders had to work with the very few mass-produced, rough-tasting brands that were available in the United States.

In Brazil, however, there are an estimated 30,000 small-scale cachaca producers and 5,000 brands on the market. Cachaca is the third-most distilled liquor in the world, and because of the caipirinha's popularity, more of it is hitting stateside shelves

Cachaca is commonly called Brazilian rum, but it is distilled from fermented sugarcane juice instead of the molasses used in most rums from other countries. The majority of cachaca is unaged (whereas most rums are aged), giving it a lighter and often more vegetal flavor with a strong sugarcane taste.

Like other liquors, cachaca can be either column distilled, an industrial technique that usually results in a cleaner, though less flavorful end product, or pot distilled, a smaller-batch method that retains more character of the raw ingredient, but also impurities. Most of the commonly available Brazilian brands like Cachaca 51 (also called Pirassununga) and Pitú are column distilled and bottled without aging.

Other brands of cachaca are aged in oak or native Brazilian wood barrels, and are generally considered "sipping cachacas," enjoyed without mixer. The brand Ypióca, also fairly available in the Bay Area, produces several cachacas aged one to two years in balsam or freijó barrels. Wood aging softens the mouthfeel of spirits and adds vanilla, caramel and other flavors. When the wood is not the usual oak used in wine and the majority of spirits, refreshingly new flavor notes can be found in the final products.

In recent months, three smaller brands of aged imported cachacas have become available: Armazem Vieira, GRM and Rochinha. These products range from 2 to 16 years of aging in woods with names like arririba, umburana, and jequitiba rosa. Some of these brands are available at the liquor store John Walker & Sons, and at the bar Cantina in San Francisco and the restaurant A Cote in Oakland. These boutique products come with a matching price, though. The GRM (my favorite of the bunch) sells for more than $60 per 750 ml bottle.

These three brands are imported by Olie Berlic, a former sommelier from New York who discovered them in Brazil while preparing to launch his own brand of cachaca, Beleza Pura. Berlic says, "I was looking for a high-end, unaged cachaca. The caipirinha calls for unaged, un-wooded cachaca, so that you don't have the wood flavors competing with the fresh lime citrus flavors." Beleza Pura is meant for the caipirinha, whereas his imports can be sipped neat.

The Fazenda Mae de Ouro brand is pot distilled from sugarcane not burned before harvesting (the brand manager said this can impart smoky flavor into the final product), and aged for one year in oak. Though aged, the product makes a fine caipirinha.

Many new high-end brands were developed specifically for the American market and palate. These companies advertise their cachacas as possible substitutions for vodka, rum or tequila in cocktails consumers already know. To make them adaptable to multiple drinks, they distill the products multiple times and/or highly filter the products to remove flavor.

Agua Luca is distilled from fermented sugarcane juice "within 24 hours of harvesting," then the final spirit is filtered 12 times for a flavor profile that's closer to vodka in flavor and structure than most cachacas.

Leblon is the most visible and available premium cachaca in the city. It is unique in that it is aged for a few months in used Cognac barrels both in Brazil and in France. Because of this, other brands' representatives question Leblon's authenticity as a true cachaca but newcomers may prefer its softer texture to the rough industrial brands.

Despite all the new brands on the market, even most Brazilian establishments here don't carry more than a few bottles of cachaca. San Francisco restaurants Canto do Brasil and Espetus stock three, and Destino carries four brands.

There are a few go-to venues for cachaca variety though. The restaurant Bossa Nova in San Francisco offers nine brands of cachaca, and Oakland's A Cote carries "9 or 10" cachacas. The Union Square Latin bar, Cantina, likely has the largest selection in San Francisco with nearly 20 brands, almost all of them high-end, and more than half meant for sipping rather than mixing.

As it's rare to find this many brands even on liquor store shelves, these venues may be the best places in the Bay Area to learn about cachaca, with bartenders who can lead tastings of their preferred products. Barring that, you can always fly to Brazil and research the other 4,990 brands.

Where to drink cachaca

A Cote, 5478 College Ave. (near Taft), Oakland; (510) 655-6469, acoterestaurant.com

Bossa Nova, 139 Eighth St. (near Minna), San Francisco; (415) 558-8004, bossanovasf.com

Cantina, 580 Sutter St. (near Mason), San Francisco; (415) 398-0195, cantinasf.com

Canto do Brasil, 41 Franklin St. (near Oak), San Francisco; (415) 626-8727

Destino, 1815 Market St. (near Guerrero), San Francisco; (415) 552-4451, destinosf.com

Espetus, 1686 Market St. (at Gough), San Francisco; (415) 552-8792, espetus.com

Camper English is a freelance cocktails and spirits writer and publisher of Alcademics.com.

Repo Man

Phew! I'm finally finishing up some intense weeks of writing assignments. I think I've been in touch with every cachaca brand on the market and crammed more obscure liquor history in my head than should actually fit (so if I forget who you are, it's because that place in my brain is filled with orgeat instead.) Last night I hit Rye for the mixing competition, where Partida Reposado was the base spirit to use- and they provided free tequila for the crowd too, which was nice. Johnny Raglin of Absinthe took home first place, with Ryan Fitzgerald (Brick, Bourbon & Branch) and Victoria D'Amato (Monaghans) picking up the second and third place prizes. Natalie, she of The Liquid Muse, was in town too in preparation for the Square One cocktail contest. H. Ehrmann of Elixir was busy pureeing watermelons and figs all day to make cocktails for the crowd. They said they've sold so many pre-sale tickets there are only 40 available at the door. Dang! But before all that I'm going to a tasting of the winners of the SF World Spirits Competition earlier this year. Hopefully between the two events I'll find time to hit the gym, as my cocktail gut continues to grow unmitigated.

Caliente Cocktails

Here's a recent story I wrote for San Francisco Magazine about Latin cocktail bars, and in particular Cantina. I am known to spend some time drinking there on occasion.

Fly to Brazil

Stirrings came out with a Caipirinha mixer. When I made a joke about what a great scam Caipirinha mixers would be a month ago, I had no idea so many brands were rushing to fill this niche. But I guess it shows that a lot of people are banking on the Caipirinha to be the next Mojito and building drink accessories around it. Yesterday I was flipping through New York magazine to see a two-page spread for Delta that promotes nothing but their cocktail program. The in-flight cocktails are all made with Stirrings mixers, so maybe next year we'll able to get Caipirinhas in the air.

Now that's a spicy cachaca!

I went to the Beleza Pura cachaca tasting event at Cantina this week. We tasted aged and unaged cachacas, with an emphasis on the aged brands Excalibur Enterprises (the guy who created Beleza Pura) is importing. Of the aged cachacas my favorite was the GRM, a 2 year old cachaca aged in two kinds of oak barrels. I loved the coconut juice flavor and oaky spiciness on the finish, like green peppercorns. Then yesterday I picked up Esquire magazine only to read that David Wondrich rated it his favorite "sipping grade" cachaca as well. It's good to see that I'm not totally wrong all the time. Anyway, look for it on the shelf of your favorite Brazilian bar or restaurant. In the store it costs about $60 so you'll want to try it before you pick up a bottle based on my not-always bad recommendations.

Cachaca tasting next week in San Francisco

(make sure to RSVP if you want to come) COME CELEBRATE BELEZA PURA and FRIENDS' CALIFORNIA DEBUT WEDNESDAY AUGUST 8TH at CANTINA TOP SHELF CACHAÇA TASTING Meet the U.S. authority on Cachaça, Olie Berlic who will lead us through a tasting journey of 4 handcrafted and award‐winning products that demonstrate the Best of Brazil. These special cachaças range in price from $28 ‐ $90 per bottle in retail stores. Olie, the first importer to take cachaças seriously, is a former NYC sommelier that researched cachaça for 3 years and tasted well over 800 cachaças before choosing three aged versions and creating his own unaged pure beauty called ‘Beleza Pura’ which captures the essence of fresh sugarcane. Over 85 articles have been written about him and his products, more non‐paid editorial press than any rum in the past decade. We are happy to be joining him for a passion driven celebration. 6 PM Welcome Cocktail 6:30‐7 PM Un‐aged Cachaça comparison tasting w/Beleza Pura Cachaça 7‐7:30 PM Aged Cachaça comparison tasting with Armazem Vieira, Rochinha & GRM 7:45‐8 PM The Caipirinha (Brazil’s classic National Cocktail) Demo Space is limited; please RSVP to events (PUT AT SIGN HERE) BelezaBrazil.com Cantina Bebidas ‐ is a Latin abode, an Art Salon, a Culinary Cocktail lounge featuring wines and spirits shaken and poured in nouveau ways. Cantina is a ‘fun‐chill stitch’ in the fabric of our community. We welcome you into our home; our music is a collage of Latin Soul, Funk, Salsa, Disco and Global Rhythms. We're open Monday through Saturday beginning at 5 pm. Cantina 580 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA Please Visit Beleza Pura Online: www.BelezaPura.com

In the mix

I was joking around at the Leblon dinner last night when one of the other journalists, new to cachaca, was asking a million questions about how to make caipirinhas. "But how much lime juice? How much sugar? What is muddling? Where do I buy these limes?" I was being sassy as usual. "You chuck a lime in a glass, add a tablespoon of sugar, smash it all up, then add ice and pour cachaca over the top. How much? To taste!" Then I announced that I'm going to get rich by inventing a pre-made caipirinha mix to take advantage of the ignorance of the masses who can't put three ingredients in a glass. Then the market manager leaned over and said, "Actually Leblon is developing a caipirinha mix." I'm always just a little bit too late with my grand get-rich schemes. Then a quick search on the internet turned up this tidbit, "51 brand [Pirassununga] cachaça distributes a packaged powdered caipirinha mix consisting of sugar and freeze dried lime juice that they claim produces a "natural taste"." So I missed the boat on that one. But maybe there is room for more obvious mixes on the market. Help me with some brainstorming.

• Martini mix- prepackaged ice cubes you freeze at home with a single drop of vermouth in each one so you can just add them to the shaker.
• Manhattan mix- sweet vermouth with bitters already added.
• Gin and tonic mix- lime-flavored tonic water.
• Negroni mix- all three ingredients mixed together, with a dried orange peel taped to the side of the bottle.
• Gimlet mix- Rose's Lime Juice with a new label slapped on top

An answer to that pesky Leblon question

Leblon is a cachaca (Brazilian sugar-cane-based rum) that's aged 3-6 months in used cognac barrels in France. The last part has always been a confusing point to cachaca consumers. Or at least to me. If it's aged in France, how can it be called cachaca? Last night I had dinner at Jardiniere with Gerry Schweitzer, COO of Leblon. He explained that the regulations on cachaca state that in order to be called cachaca it must be grown and distilled in Brazil, but can then be bottled elsewhere. (Among other rules.) This is also the case with many French wines, but in contrast to tequila for example, which in order to be called 100% de agave must be produced and bottled in the region of origin. Finally, an answer to that nagging question. But why? Schweitzer explained that it was less expensive to do it this way than to age and bottle it in Brazil, due (largely) to taxes on importing the empty bottles into the country to be filled. Brazil wants Brazilian bottles used and these are protective tariffs. That said, Leblon is now moving over to aging some of the product in Brazil as well as in France, and I believe they'll eventually be doing it all in Brazil.

My Cachaca Drink

My article on new brunch cocktails in the July issue of Out Magazine just came out. Pick it up! (And if you like it, feel free to write a letter to the editor as they kicked me to the curb.) In the article I mention that the average Bloody Mary usually disappoints- not because it's a bad drink, but because it's hard to get right. Then I suggest a few alternatives. The Michelada is one, the Spanish Coffee, which is huge in Portland, Oregon, is another, and the third is a cocktail called the Mellow A.M.. They neglected to include that I invented the drink (at least I think I did- it's so hard to know if someone else invented the same drink independently), but that's okay because I get to share it with you all.

The Mellow AM 1 ounce Cachaca such as Boca Loca or Pirrasununga 51 (I tried other brands and these two were my favorites) 1 ounce Cranberry Juice 1 ounce Papaya Nectar 1 1/2 ounce Ginger Ale Build in a tall glass over ice and serve with a straw.

The thing is, I've made the drink at home a zillion times and think it's fan-freeking-tastic, but I don't know of anyone else who has tried it. So if you happen to come across the ingredients, why don't you give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Placement

I was just thinking that if cachaca brands really want to reach a wider audience they need to get hip-hoppers to start drinking it and rapping about it in songs and calling out brands. I'm sure there are lots of words that rhyme with Pirassununga. I'd like to volunteer my services as an ad director for the campaigns that follow. Here's a slogan I already wrote:

Cachaca- It's the Cachizzle!

Cachacathon

Perhaps the reason last night's dream was about caipirinhas was because last night's cocktail experimentation was with cachaca. Drink nerds will no doubt have noted the barrage of new brands of cachaca being launched in the US market over the past year and a half. I have four different kinds at home that had been collecting a little bit of dust. The reason is because cachaca brands only really promote the caipirinha; a drink that's just cachaca, lime juice, and simple sugar. It's just not a drink I enjoy in its standard form. I don't mind a "caipirini," which is basically a caipirinha served up instead of on the rocks, which is actually a daiquiri. But recently I was trying to invent some new drinks and found a better use for cachaca. The spirit (rum made from sugar cane juice instead of molasses, usually unaged) is usually quite thin and astringent, sort of like vodka but with more flavor. It's got a bit of burn to it, and I think when you put that with lime juice (also thin and acidic) it's too much of the same texture. On the other hand, when you add cachaca to a thick fruit juice like grapefruit or papaya or even cranberry, it helps lighten the syrup texture of the juice. Eureka! I was working with a recipe for Out magazine, trying my juice combo cocktail with different quantities of spirit and mixer, and trying out my four brands of cachaca to see which one worked best. I was surprised to find that Leblon was my least favorite in the drink, but this is probably because that product is aged in wood and is the smoothest, classiest cachaca of the bunch. It works better with the thinner lime drinks. Boca Loca, Agua Luca, and Pirassununga all tasted different in the drink, but I liked them all. (I was surprised at how pronounced the differences between the brands were, as there was only one ounce of cachaca and 3 ounces of juice and other mixers.) In my cocktail Pirassununga was the winner. Anyway, with the new drink I invented (I'll print it here after it's published elsewhere) being so darn tasty, I have no doubt that the remainders of these bottles of cachaca won't be around too much longer. Then I'll have to sample some of the other new brands that have hit the market.

Caipirinha, The Musical

As I think about drinks all day then have a drink to relax at night, it's no wonder that cocktails sometimes invade my sleep too. Most often that's in the form of stressful dreams, but last night was a fun one. I dreamt I was watching a movie called Caipirinha! in which muddling a caipirinha would release some sort of happy magic and everyone in the room would shout "Caipirinha!" It should go without saying that this was a feel-good movie.