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.
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.
Labels: cachaca
3 Comments:
I think that you hit the proverbial "nail on the head" with your comment about Cachaca makers needing to get beyond the Caipirinha in order to get Cachaca into more drink ideas. The Frisco Fish brand of Cachaca is doing just that. They have both a Silver and a Barrel Aged Gold Cachaca that they are promoting to use instead of other spirits like vodka, rum and tequila. I recently had a RedFish (trademarked drink) at a club called DaDa's which uses Frisco Fish Silver Cachaca and RedBull. It was pretty good. Roy's Hawaiian restaurant uses the Frisco Fish Cachaca for their Caipirinhas and they are much smoother than P-51, Ypioca or Pitu. I think my biggest surprise was when I tried a Friscorita at Bonnie Ruth's Cafe in Starwood village. This was the most enjoyable margarita style drink that I have ever had. They mix 1 oz Frisco Fish Gold Cachaca, 3/4 oz Triple Sec, 1 oz Sweet & Sour mix and a splash of Orange juice. Shake and strain into a highball glass with a squeeze of lime. Out of this world ! There are a lot of Cachacas being introduced and you need to be really careful which brand you try. The Leblon brand is one of the most expensive and is not even a true Cachaca. Because they blend, bottle and age the product in France, it cannot be labeled as a Cachaca. Don't ask me how they got away with that but if you try it, you are not drinking Cachaca but something more like a barrel aged vodka. I have tried to make caipirinhas with about a dozen different brands but keep coming back to Frisco Fish because it seems to have the smoothest flavors and is also very inexpensive. I think that it costs less than the other brands because it is the only brand endorsed for sale in the US by the US Cachaca Trade Council. The US CTC spent two years looking for a brand of Cachaca to support and decided on the Frisco Fish Silver and Gold as the one. Works for me. Here are their websites if you want more information.
www.friscofish.com
www.cachacatc.com
Hmmmm. Sounds like some pr person from Frisco Fish wrote this one (nice web site reference, BTW). If you're looking for a more experienced and "technical" review of cachacas, check out the recent results from the 2007 San Francisco World Spirits Awards which is considered one of the most prestigous spirits competition in the world (do a google search for web link). Long story short, the panel of judges consisting of experienced industry experts and spirits journalists gave LEBLON cachaca the double gold medal and "Top Cachaca" title. Fisco Fish wasn't even mentioned. The proof is in the cachaca, people. Obviously I'm a Leblon fan so sure I'll get defensive. Per the "liquorsnob" email above...as Leblon continues to win more gold medal awards at renowned spirits competitions over the past two years don't you think the panels of SPIRITS EXPERTS would've said something by now if they didn't think Leblon was NOT a cachaca? These judges are pretty smart folks...Cheers.
What a spirit calls itself is regulated by the international and local municipality in which it is produced and then sold. (Fun fact- American whiskey is defined differently in California so Old Potrero has to label bottles as "distilled barley spirit" in the state and differently elsewhere.) By the time it gets into the judging they can just accept the labelling on the bottle because the government has already been involved.
I attended the SF World Spirits Competition in question and I asked specifically about Leblon to one of the big judges, because this very question has intrigued me. The judge had no idea how and where Leblon was made. (Judges taste blind and don't know who the entrants are until after the winners are chosen.) But he was just not familiar with the product. This isn't to say that someone didn't research this at the judging; just that the judges I talked to weren't aware of any controversy.
I know that cachaca as a spirit has less legal restrictions associated with it than with rhum agricole, which is also made from sugar can juice in French-speaking Carribean countries. This must be part of the reason why a product aged in France can bill itself as Brazilian cachaca.
Anyway, perhaps now I'll try to find an official answer to this question.
This has no bearing on how Leblon tastes, of course; just its category designation.
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