A post on Cachaca may seem untimely, or worse, unseasonable, but hey, it’s Summer somewhere, no? So, friends south of the equator, this one’s for you. Plus, I’m feeling a need for a break from the cold. There has been much written about Cachaca in the past year (see links at end of post) and its growing prominence on bar shelves everywhere, and even much bally-hoo around whether the Caipirinha, the primary and traditional drink using Cachaca, is the next… Mojito!¹ *gasp* Regardless of the Caipirinha’s status as the next bane of bartenders’ existences everywhere, the fact remains that it is an excellent and simple drink that, so far, I’ve found only really shines when true Brazilian Cachaca is used. And, as it’s one of my mother’s favorite drinks and I’d picked up several cachacas not available here, we had ourselves a tasting, and threw in a cousin to Cachaca, Rhum Agricole, for kicks.

Cachaca, in a nutshell, is a neighbor to Rum in the spirits world with the primary difference being that while Rum is usually distilled from molasses or the byproduct of sugar production, Cachaca is distilled directly from the sugar cane itself. So, again, neighbors, but the difference creates a very different character in the two. The primary distinction I find is that Rum (especially Light Rum) is more refined and light in body than Cachaca where Cachaca has a heavier quality and an almost earthy and musty flavor profile that distinguishes it from traditional Rum and lends itself to Tequila comparisons. Who were the contenders for my affections you ask? Well then…

The three Cachacas in the mix were Pitu, a very bright and rough Cachaca and the only available here in Tulsa; Rum Toucano (by Ypioca), an aged cachaca that is dark caramel in color and apparently has something to do with birds in the rainforest; Leblon, a ‘luxury’ brand cachaca that is a lighter and smoother version of Pitu (unless your bartender leaves the lime and sugar out of the Caipirinha you order – this happened; I’ve never forgiven the bastard), and Depaz Rhum Agricole, a blue sugar cane Agricole from the highest most virginestest peaks of Martinique, jewel of the West Indies *ahem*. More about Rhum Agricole and its relationship to Cachaca below.

Alas, there was another Cachaca invited to the party, but due to a restraining order placed on me after I threatened a lawsuit against the producers when it seared the tastebuds from two of my family members into a realm known only to Cthulu and its mystic minions so that the only thing they can ever taste again is this, and aspirin, it shall remain nameless.²

My Caipirinha process is a variation on the one served up by Gary Regan in ‘The Joy of Mixology’:

The Caipirinha³

• 2 double old-fashioned glasses
• 1 lime
• 3 oz Cachaca
• 1 tbs. fine sugar (approx. and to taste)

Get yourself two double old-fashioned glasses, fill one generously with ice. Cut the ends off the lime and cut it in half and cut each half into quarters. Put 6-7 of those quarters into the glass without ice (until the lime quarters are reaching about halfway when loosely stacked). Pour the sugar on top of the limes; muddle like mad. Pour the Cachaca on top of the muddled mixture and strain into the ice-filled glass⁴ .

It makes a pleasant, tart, and flavorful cooler. But does the Cachaca matter so much with all that lime juice and sugar vying for attention? Well, with 3 ounces of it it sure as shit does.

I should note that these taste testings were blind and given that Pitu is the only brand available in Tulsa, it was easy for me to pick it out of the pack. However, the other 3 guests were not experienced with it and, given its being the least expensive of the bunch, it exceeded expectations with how well it did.

The first thing you notice about Pitu is how striking and strongly-flavored it seems it will be when you smell it. It’s very fragrant and almost fruity with a deep mustiness that, if you ever stuck your head in a bag of organic brown sugar and inhaled deeply for a minute or so, you’ll recognize (hey, I don’t judge you, k?). This Cachaca doesn’t get overpowered by the heavy tart and sweet combination in this simple drink and balances it with a deep rich flavor extremely well. One person mentioned it was the most flavorful and complex of the whole group and that it had an almost savory quality. At the end of the night, this was the one everyone wanted seconds of. Best in this class, and, for the price, a fantastic bargain.

This Cachaca is the only one in the bunch that is aged. Like Rum, Cachaca can be aged in wooden barrels for a number of years prior to being bottled and it lends a gold-to-deep brown color to the liquor. As you would expect, the Toucano (which bills itself as a ‘Brazilian Rum made from the first pure crush of freshly-harvested and unprocessed sugar cane’…a.k.a. freaking Cachaca) is aged two years in, in this case, oak barrels.

It’s a very different beast and, as you would expect, the first noticeable difference is in the heaviness of the aroma and the oaky flavor it gives and the deep caramel color it carries. This makes an alright Caipirinha, but truth be told, it’s much more dry than the white (unaged) Cachacas and what additional complexity it may have gets lost in the highly tart/sweet profile of the drink. It didn’t stand out, though it seemed more smooth than the Pitu, and my feeling is that this is probably meant more for sipping on-the-rocks versus putting in a mixed drink. I haven’t tried this, so I could be wrong, but it just never came together for me the way I expected and its unaged brethren came out the better. Plus, with the slightly higher price than the Pitu, if you’re making Caipirinhas there’s not much point in it. I would like to try this against the Pitu Gold Cachaca that just recently became available here as I’m curious in how two aged Cachacas would compare.

Leblon is a more luxury brand of Cachaca that espouses its ‘Kiss of France’ where Cognac casks and “French cellar master techniques” are used to finish the blending of the distillates. Ummmm, whatev⁵ .

This is much closer to the Pitu than the Toucano or Depaz, as you would expect. However, throughout its aroma, neat tasting, and use in a Caipirinha it definitely comes across as more refined, lighter, and less bold than the Pitu. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In combination, though, this light body and more refined quality leads to a Caipirinha where the Cachaca is no longer the featured player, but rather a drummer using those wire brush thingies to lay down a very subtle backbeat to the bright lime and sugar combo. I guess I’d say it this way; if i were to place the Caipirinha on a bar menu, where patrons not familiar with more flavorful spirits were likely to order and might find anything with actual bold and, sometimes, harsh flavors, then I would look to a Cachaca like Leblon where the patron would more likely taste it and say something like, ‘Hmmmmm, lime and sugar I recognize…tasty. And hey, look!, an exotic new flavor on the back end of it I, nor any of my less cosmopolitan friends, have ever tasted. Look how brave I am!’, preferably to themselves⁶ . This is a good spirit; it’s just not my favorite in a Caipirinha, and maybe it would outperform Pitu in other Cachaca cocktails and mixed drinks.

The differences between Rhum Agricole (agricultural rum) and Cachaca are technical and lie primarily in the techniques and regulations regarding their distillation and the rules regarding their classification. I’ve included it here because both are distilled from fresh sugar cane juice (one point of difference being extraction method) versus molasses and the flavor profiles are very similar. Rhum Agricole, technically, should come from the island of Martinique and be processed, distilled, and aged according to standards rigorously set by the AOC of the French government⁷ . The vast majority of Rhum Agricole you’ll find is aged in oak barrels (Cognac barrels again) and has a more smoky flavor because of it.

I must say that, like the Toucano, this doesn’t make for a good Caipirinha and, honestly, I felt that the Depaz was a little thinner than the price it bears warrants. it does, however, have a very nice and long smoky finish and is smoother than all of the Cachacas. Again, it’s probably meant more as a sipping experience and/or to be used lightly in Tiki recipes for accent, and it’s probably a great fit for that. However, in this ungrand experiment, it disappointed a little. Mind you, I’ve only had this one Rhum Agricole for comparison.

For great in-depth information on Rhum Agricole and its differences from Cachaca look here:

Caribbean Spirits’ Rhum Agricole Article

Drinkboy Forum Discussion

All in all this was highly enjoyable and informative, but I think the Rhum Agricole is a bit of a non-starter as Caipirinha fodder and is probably unfairly judged in this round-up. For Caipirinha purposes, you can do no better than Pitu though Leblon makes a very refined drink. And, trust me, not any Cachaca will do – the one I’ve left out of this piece was horrifying, and not cheap. Which is why, perhaps, with a drink that is so closely associated with the working class of Brazil, the Pitu has my heart. I would like to try, and will be picking up at some point, Cachaca 51, Agua Luca, Pitu Gold, and Ypioca to see if any measure up.

There are also some great write ups on Cachaca in these fine locales:

Scottes’ Rum Review

Camper’s Rundown of Cachacas and San Fransisco locales

Robert Hess’s take on Cachaca

1. whatever that means. but it still means muddling your ass off, sorry barkeeps everywhere [↩]
2. and this AFTER I tried one of the recommended recipes in the marketing materials – it just made it worse, those sadistic bastards [↩]
3. CN-style, yo [↩]
4. I used to build them and put the ice on top of the muddled mass, which is more traditional, but the wife like them strained and it does make for an easier-to-drink libation [↩]
5. when i see falutin’ marketing language such as this I generally tune out and curse them for justifying the higher price of the spirit for it, sheesh [↩]
6. yes, I pretty much hold the rest of the world of my imagination in this much disdain… Again, I don’t judge you, k? [↩]
7. of course [↩]