caipirinha.
This classic Brazilian cocktail is the perfect easy mix of lime, sugar, and cachaça; like a boozy, refreshing limeade.
Makes: 1 cocktail Prep time: 01 minutes Build Time: 05 minutes jump to recipe.
I’ve kind of decided to stop trying to recreate the wheel with cocktails. I love classics, and in our recent obsession, I’ve realized that many of them aren’t well known. I mean, hell, I didn’t know about this cocktail until recently. So here goes.
I can’t remember how we stumbled upon caipirinhas. The name kept popping up — in Trello boards, on Tiktok, in conversations, and then finally, for us both, in an old Anthony Bourdain video. Say Bourdain, and I’m in.
Bourdain was sitting on a street in Brazil somewhere, enjoying a glass filled with limes. He described it lovingly (several times in that episode, actually), adding that after several you’d be asking “where are my pants?”
Did anyone else see this? Or does mine and Evan’s algorithms happen to know us that well?
It’s very similar to a margarita, but it isn’t the same at all. It’s more tart, a bit more sweet, and goes down very smoothly. We compared it to limeade.
Not to give it all away up front, but making a caipirinha is also easier than most cocktails. Muddle, shake, dump. No straining, no fancy ice, just a glass with a lot of crushed limes.
The thing that is special about them, then, is the liquor. You must use cachaça, which is similar to rum but sweeter.
About cachaça
Cachaça is similar to white rum in that it is made from sugarcane; but unlike white rum, which is made from molasses or other sugars, cachaça is made directly from sugarcane juice. Because of this, it is sweeter and carries a different taste than rum. Don’t like rum? You’ll be okay here.
This is actually easier to find than you’d think. And I’m saying that as someone who lives in Ohio. Have you seen our liquor laws?
You will probably need to go to a liquor store, rather than just a grocery store, unless your grocery store has a very thorough liquor department.
Once there, it may be best to just ask for help; but if you’re intimidated by saying cachaça out loud (it’s like cah-sha-sa), try the rum aisles first. It really depends on how the store owner views cachaça; they may instead put it in liqueurs and cordials. Try rum first.
The bottles range from 20 to 60 or so dollars. We’ve had a few bottles of Leblon, Brazil’s preferred brand, and a budget-version bottle Pirassununga, pictured below. We’ve enjoyed both, so if you don’t want to splurge, you’ll be fine with the cheaper bottle.
Making this spirit-free
I’m a little hesitant to give a recipe for a non-alcoholic version because the ingredient list is so small and there’s no real substitute for cachaça (and certainly no NA version). You could swap the cachaça for water and make a muddled limeade. You could top it with a little club soda or sparkling water to make it feel less “watery”. Or you could swap in coconut water for something with a little more density and tropical flavor.
So the recipe would look something like this:
1/2 lime, chopped into wedges
2 sugar cubes
2 ounces coconut water
2 ounces club soda, optional
Muddle limes and sugar cube in a cocktail shaker. Add in the coconut water, then fill with ice. Shake until chilled and ice is broken down, about 20-30 shakes. Dump into a glass and add a splash of soda, if desired.
caipirinha ingredients
limes: You actually barely need one lime for one cocktail, which was a welcome surprise to me when I first started making them (for whatever reason, I assumed you needed like 6 limes). You can cut them whichever way you want; I love cutting itty bitty quarters, Evan prefers long slices. Evan also insists on cutting out the pulp down the middle, but I’m not sure I’ve noticed a difference.
sugar: We’ve made these with granulated sugar, simple syrup, and sugar cubes. All fine, but we personally prefer sugar cubes the best. They are easy to pop into the shaker and break down smoothly. Simple syrup didn’t really do it for us, but works well in a pinch. You need more than you think, though, so be prepared to pour more in. If using granulated, 1 tablespoon will do the trick.
cachaça: Like I mentioned above, this is not quite a rum and shouldn’t be substituted for it, even in a pinch (it will not taste the same). It is sweeter, not as sharp. You’ll likely find this at a liquor store in the rum aisles, somewhere near the white varieties.
caipirinha pairing options
As you’d probably guess, most of the foods you’d typically eat with margaritas go well with a caipirinha, as well. I mean like the usual lime-friendly suspects — tacos, guac, salsa. If you’re feeling like being a little more specific, here are some delicious Brazilian options to pair this cocktail with:
pao de queijo (brazilian cheese bread)
grilled shrimp (with malagueta sauce)
mussels in white wine
yucca fries
picanha (tri tip sirloin)
feijoada (stewed, meaty black beans)
