Cachaca
Cachaça (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaˈʃasɐ]) is a distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice. Also known as aguardente, pinga, caninha and other names, it is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil. Outside Brazil, cachaça is used almost exclusively as an ingredient in tropical drinks, with the caipirinha being the most famous cocktail.
Sugar production was mostly switched from the Madeira islands to Brazil by the Portuguese in the 16th century. In Madeira, aguardente de cana is made by distilling sugar cane liquors and the pot stills from Madeira were brought to Brazil to make what today is also called cachaça.
The process dates from 1532, when one of the Portuguese colonisers brought the first cuttings of sugar cane to Brazil from Madeira. Cachaça is mostly produced in Brazil, where, according to 2007 figures, 1,500,000,000 litres (396,000,000 US gal; 330,000,000 imp gal) are consumed annually, compared with 15,000,000 litres (3,960,000 US gal; 3,300,000 imp gal) outside the country. It is typically between 38% and 48% alcohol by volume. When homemade, it can be as strong as the distiller wants. Up to six grams per litre of sugar may be added.
Type: Spirit
Alcoholic: Yes
Cocktails with Cachaca
3 recipes in TheCocktailDB list cachaca as an ingredient.
