Caipirinha
The Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail and one of the world's great simple drinks, combining just three ingredients—cachaça (Brazilian sugarcane spirit), lime, and sugar—to create refreshing perfection.
Quick Facts
Prep Time
4 min
Difficulty
easy
Glassware
rocks
Ice
crushed ice
Technique
Muddle
Garnish
lime wheel
Ingredients
- 2 oz Cachaça
- 0.5 whole Lime
- 2 tsp Sugar
Instructions
Cut half a lime into wedges and add to a rocks glass.
Add sugar and muddle gently.
Fill glass with crushed ice.
Add cachaça and stir well.
Garnish with a lime wheel.
About This Cocktail
The Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail and one of the world's great simple drinks, combining just three ingredients—cachaça (Brazilian sugarcane spirit), lime, and sugar—to create refreshing perfection. The drink emerged in rural São Paulo state in the early 1900s, possibly as a folk remedy, before becoming Brazil's signature cocktail. The Caipirinha is muddled directly in a rocks glass: fresh lime quarters and sugar are muddled together, cachaça is added, then ice. The muddling extracts lime oils and juice, creating intense citrus flavor. The Caipirinha represents Brazilian drinking culture, Carnival celebrations, and the beauty of simple, rustic drinks. The drink embodies Brazilian informality, cachaça appreciation, and the country's love of fresh, unpretentious cocktails. The Caipirinha's grassy cachaça, intense lime, and raw sugar create refreshing, aggressive flavor that's unapologetically rustic. The cocktail demands quality ingredients: good cachaça (not industrial), fresh limes (muddled with skin for oils), and sugar (traditionally raw cane sugar). Variations include the Caipiroska (vodka) and Caipirissima (rum), but purists maintain that only cachaça creates an authentic Caipirinha. The drink represents Brazilian identity, beach culture, and national pride. Whether served at a Rio beach bar or an international cocktail lounge, the Caipirinha delivers Brazilian refreshment.
