Caipirinha

Last year, business trip oblige, I celebrated a big zero birthday in São Paulo (Brazil). The party, that finished a very late hour by all standards, included Swedish chants in a posh Sushi restaurant down town and an undisclosed number of capirinhas. Most night – for the best and the worst – remains in blurred foggy bits and pieces. All I can say is that the headache the day after was excruciating. Between aspirin and aspirin, I promised myself that my next big zero birthday would be celebrated in a bio-sophisticated healthy spa resort, with no short supply of chamomile, peppermint and green tea, spirogyra and açaí concoctions, and (maybe) some oat cookies with chocolate chips and carrot sticks.

I managed to keep away from caipirinha until two days ago.... a dear friend is leaving Zurich, and throw away a memorable See You Soon Party. Swedish chants were omitted from the celebrations, but several bottles of the finest cachaça didn't see the end of the party. As a result of sugar shortage, Malibulinha was created (replace all spirit by Malibu, which is sweet rum). Again, the same piercing headache the morning after, and the same vision health drinks and new age environments.

Caipirinha (pronounced kye-peer-EEN-ya) is a combination of muddled lime, sugar, and cachaça (pronounced ka-SHAH-sa), stirred or mixed and served over ice in a rocks glass. It is considered to be the national drink of Brazil.

For many years, it was a poor people drink, and it is believed that it was first consumed by slaves on the sugar cane plantations in the country's northeast in the mid-1500's. Its name is derived from the word caipira, which means hayseed or hick or rube, followed by the disminutive -inha, which means small or little. Literally, it means little hayseed or little hick or little rube. When referred to the drink, caipirinha is a feminine word.

Caipirinha's base, cachaça, is a clear spirit distilled directly from the juice of sugar cane. Cachaça is also known as aguardente (fire water), pinga (drop), caninha (little cane) or arrebenta-peito (chest smasher). Unlike popular belief, cachaça and rum are not the same thing: while most rum is made from molasses, a by-product of sugar production (from either sugar cane or sugar beets), cachaça is produced directly from cane juice. The fermentation agent is by tradition fubá (maize flour); the distillation unit is a copper pot still. The resulting beverage is either bottled or stored in wood barrels for aging.

Caipirinha is quite easy to do, though a certain attention to detail is required. You start with limes. Before cutting them, roll them on a board with the palm of your hand. That helps to release the juices. Then trim the ends, cut the limes into quarters lengthwise. Put four to six wedges into a heavy-bottomed glass and sprinkle them with a tablespoon of granulated sugar. Superfine sugar is better,because it will dissolves more rapidly. You can also use sirup. Next, comes the crucial step: thoroughly grind the sugar and the lime with a pestle or a muddler to release the oils in the skin of the lime, as well as its juice. How long you should muddle is somehow controversial. You can find all sort of recommendations in the literature. To some, the recommended time is no longer than 15 seconds, to others the ideal time sits between 3 to 5 minutes.

Finally, fill the glass with ice cubes and cachaça. And another controversial topic - shake or stir? In Brazil, the caipirinha is stirred not shaken. The bartender gives the caipirinha a few stirs with a spoon. You receive the caipirinha, stir it a little more, take a sip to taste it, and wait a little before start drinking to allow the sugar to dissolve totally and the flavors to release. But, if you cannot wait a few minutes, then shaking is the optimal way to ensure the mixing and melding of all the ingredients. Finally, put a straw on it and serve. Cuca Brazuca shows how:

Saúde!