Cachaca

Does anyone know of a place in Chicago that sells this sugar cane liquer. It's summer and caiparinhas make a great summer drink.

I believe Sam's carries Cachaça.

Sam's Wine & Spirits
1720 North Marcey St
Chicago
http://www.samswine.com/

Pepe's #2 just south of Fullerton on the east side of Western carries several brands of cachaca as well as other brasilien products.

Also, do not forget the batidas, which use cachaca along with fruit purees, crushed ice, thick coconut milk, etc. to the taste of the mixer. In more tropical parts of Brasil coconut milk or cashew fruit puree is more typical, in the south, maracuja (parcha, passionfruit) is common, but also you will see things like strawberry.

These are wonderful drinks, and infinitely variable.

Thanks to both of you. My local Binny's doesn't carry it.

YourPalWill wrote:Does anyone know of a place in Chicago that sells this sugar cane liquer. It's summer and caiparinhas make a great summer drink.

One of the more interesting things I found on my first visit to La Unica was a more thorough liquor section than I'd seen in many latino groceries. They stock cachaça, as well as at least half-a-dozen unusual latin american beers. I can't recall the whole beer line up, but I believe they had products from Bolivia and Guatemala, as well as the pseudo-cuban Hatuey.

Does anyone know more about varieties of cachaça? La Unica stocks what appear to be four variations from Ypioca: ouro, prata, crystal, and... er, can't remember the fourth, and/or maybe the fourth wasn't Ypioca.

I am a fan of finer rums and was wondering if there are good cachaças to look out for, particularly those that are suitable for drinking neat or on the rocks. (a little googling to try to reconstruct the above facts led me to this eGullet thread on the subject which I've bookmarked, but I'll still gladly accept any tips from the LTH crowd.)

I'm a long-time supporter of La Unica, including its liquor section, and also cachaca. First off, you are correct about LaUnica's outstanding little booze isle. Look closely, and you will see a few well-selected bottles of reserva and/or gran reserva riojas, top brandies de Jerez (Cardinal Mendoza, Lepanto, ect.), good piscos, aguardientes, and cachaca, at very fair prices. Other than food and booze, all sorts of culturally important things fill the aisles at LaUnica, such as Royal Violets, which any Cuban kid must have in his or her hair at all times.

My favorite cachaca for caipirinhas is Pitu, the cheap white stuff with a langostino on the label. That is what is most used at the little hut beach bars in Rio. (Speaking of which, the mojito thread reminds me that I haven't made a big jug of caipirinhas yet this summer.) Beyond that, I have some Ypioca Ouro and also Plata around the house. I dig the label with the 70's photo of some hip old dude sipping cachaca contemplatively. The gold is barrel aged and is a good drink, falling somewhere between an anejo tequila and an aged rum. Indeed, it is quite like Barbancourt, which is an odd rum because, like cachaca, it is made from guarapo (cane juice) rather than molasses. Nice for a change of pace.

Among the beers regularly in rotation, keep a lookout for Dominican Presidente (green bottle, gold and white label) and Gutemalan Gallo (brown bottle, red label with rooster). Hatuey is, as you suggest, not "Cuban" in the sense that a US brewery makes the stuff under the same trademark as the original Cuban brew. While a Cubaphile, I can't say that either version of Hatuey is any good. The malta is excellent, however.

Here's something I wrote about caipirinhas maybe 4 years ago. I was reminded of it because AnnieB, who has just emerged with news of a great place, was a major contributor regarding things Brazilian:

Annie, you are right that you don't need a recipe for caipirinhas. The ingredients are but three. However, there probably is no drink where technique is more important. The versions I've had in Chicago uniformly disappoint. The technique required is recklessness.

After spending some time observing carefully the production of caipirinhas at the beachside bars of Ipanema about 8 years ago, I brought back a couple of liters of Pitu and had us a caipirinha party. This was all pre-pan-latino-craze, of course. Since then, no one will let me attend a summer outing without mixing up a batch.

One secret, IMO, is respect for the lost art of muddling. Very few drinks are muddled these days. Shakers and blenders cannot do justice to certain drinks, and the caipirinha is one. Anyway, here's what I do:

Use the cheap stuff, Pitu cachaca (with the big shrimp on the label) or similarly characterless aguardiente. The good stuff is not only wasted here, it makes the drink taste bad. (Like a margarita made with a smoky mezcal legitimo: who needs it?)

Two cardinal rules: more limes, more sugar. A full Florida lime or 3 Mexican/Key limes per glass, at least and a couple of tablespoons of sugar. Better yet, jack up the sugar concentration by using a simple syrup. At least use the very fine grained (but not powedered) bar sugar found at some liquor stores. Also, look for thin-skinned limes. Thick white pith makes for a bitter mess.

I make mine in a big jar, like those used for Mexican refrescos. Roll the limes, quarter them, throw them in the jar, continue until jar is 1/4 to 1/2 full. Put in lots of sugar/syrup. Take a long wooden tejolote (pestle), not the one you use for garlic, and smash the limes into oblivion. Nothing worse than paying for a caipirinha at a bar that is garnished with a few dainty, barely squeezed lime wedges that would be more at home in a gin and tonic. A new wooden spoon works well, also. When you have a lime slurry, fill the jar with good, clear ice. Then add the Pitu, and don't be shy. I usually start with a liter and a half and go from there. Mix well (get the sugar off the bottom), sample and add more sugar if your teeth don't hurt. Serve with a ladle to get the proper lime/ice ration in your glass. Add ingredients as needed. It helps to be outside at a picnic table with temperatures above 80, and a pig roasting nearby.

JeffB wrote:Here's something I wrote about caipirinhas maybe 4 years ago.

awesome! I should have asked before the party. They came out pretty well, but i'll have to give it another go with your suggestions. Not sure when I'll be able to line up the roasting pig, although I suggested it to the host of aforementioned party.

Times and palates change. Both Binnys and Sams now carry at least three types of cachaca.
Their inventory of rums now include several types of Barbancourt and multiple rhum agricole. Made with rum the caipirinha becomes similar to a ti punch, although the former is usually made with sugar, the latter with sugar syrup. Binnys has recently added sirop de canne from Martinique for truely authentic ti punch.
In my experience in restaurants and bars caipirinhas are served muddled with thin slices of key limes while ti punch is usually a squeeze of a quartered or halved lime or two, but not muddled. I prefer to muddle the limes for either drink. Muddling is even more imperative for the mojito.

I'm very interested in making these, but I think it necessary to try one first. Who serves up a proper caipirinha? And how is it pronounced?

-ramon

All the Brazilian steakhouses serve caipirinhas.
Cuban restaurants serve mojitos, but many not well, adding soda to the point of serving minty 7-up. I don't think that there should be any soda in it.
I don't think that there is any place in Chicago that would have any idea of what you were talking about if you ordered a ti (short for petit) punch. I would like to be proven wrong on that.

I really like the Caipirinhas at Mas on Division St. in Wicker Park. They have a lot of other good Latin-influenced drinks there, but the Caipirinhas are done pretty darned well.

I think it's pronounced "Ky-pee-reen-ya" (first syllable rhymes with "guy")

Mas
1670 W. Division
(773) 276-8700

To my non-Latino ear, I think it's

ky-ee-peer-een-ya.

Somebody who speaks Portuguese help.

cai (rhymes with pie) peer (as in lord of the realm) een (as in een a yu face) ya (as in what brasilians would spell ia ia ia musica, but we would spell ya ya ya music)

I have two bottles of cachaça I brought back from Rio with me, amazing how darn cheap the stuff was in a market that was off the tourist path.

While I love a caipirinha, I'm curious are there other drinks that folks have enjoyed with cachaca? Please post. thanks.

Sweet Willie wrote:I have two bottles of cachaça I brought back from Rio with me, amazing how darn cheap the stuff was in a market that was off the tourist path.

While I love a caipirinha, I'm curious are there other drinks that folks have enjoyed with cachaca? Please post. thanks.

It's fairly similar to a caipirinha but I like cachaça in a classic daiquiri. 2 parts cachaça, 1 part fresh lime juice, 1 part 1:1 simple syrup. Shake over ice, strain and serve up.

=R=