I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of Brazilian cocktails. This is simply because, in general, the quality of liquor here isn’t top notch. Well, unless you are drinking Johnny Walker, but that is because it is among the varieties that are imported.
There are a lot of name brand liquors here, but if you check the back label you find they are manufactured in Brazil. To put it nicely, let’s just say that the country does rice, beans, red meat and a myriad of desserts much better than it does alcohol. Of course, limited quality alcohol is a small price to pay for all those wonderful things the country does do well, but it is for this reason that I often stick with beer.
This brings me to that ever popular drink, the Caipirinha made with the sugarcane liquor, cachaça. (Note, it is nothing like the rum of the Caribbean, also made of sugarcane, because it typically isn’t aged). I’ve had a couple of these drinks and I have to say I enjoy the variety of fruits you can add. Both the kiwi and the passion fruit options are great. The one thing I don’t like about the drink is the cachaça.
Before we moved here I enjoyed it, but now I really can’t stomach the smell. You see, the smell of this liquor is the same smell you get when you open a bottle of rubbing alcohol often used to clean the equipment in the gym. It is also the same smell you get when you pull up to a filling station to top the car off with alcool instead of gasoline. So needless to say, I’m not a big fan of sitting down to a drink with the same aroma as all of these things.
Not to put a damper on the Caipirinha, or its rich history, it just isn’t my thing. My advice is that if you drink cachaça go for the high quality (read: more expensive) stuff.
If I do order a cocktail, I lean towards the Caprioska. This is the same drink, but made with vodka instead of the cachaça. During our time at the beach, in honor of the all the mango business going on around here, I treated myself to a Mango Caprioska.
They are easy to make yourself and you can substitute any fruit for the traditional lime. Pineapple, passion fruit, kiwi and mango are all popular here.
Mango Caprioska
Half of a ripe mango, cubed
1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar
Crushed ice
Vodka
Add the fruit and sugar to the glass and mull together. Fill the glass with crushed ice and top off with vodka.
You can check out the original announcement for full details, but here are a few highlights.
Be sure to email your submission to lori(at)fakefoodfree(dot)com (I will respond that I received it) and include the following information:
First Name:
Recipe Name:
Blog url:
Blog post url:
Picture: (about 450 x 340 px)
Feel free to use the logo above in your blog post. (If you don’t have a blog, just send your name, recipe and a picture.)
All entries are due by Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 12:00pm CST.
Oh what a refreshing looking drink
That sounds like a fun/tropical drink. I’m really a beer girl and don’t really ever drink the hard stuff or wine!
Mango cocktail-my hubby would love that!!I’m more of a “mock”tail person 🙂
This may be the only time you and I diverge in opinion – I love cachaça! So far, the only brand we usually find here in MN is Leblon (I don’t know if that is actually a Brazilian brandname). The aroma is really sweet and sugary! Hubs makes a great caipirinha but the caprioska is a great alternative. I just bought some more mangoes (I’m addicted) and will need to try this!
That mango caprioska looks refreshing, with or without top-notch vodka! And a good sugarcane liquor sounds delish, too, for that matter. But I shouldn’t be thinking of alcohol this early in the morning…Unfortunately I won’t be submitting anything to your mango challenge, but I look forward to reading about all the entries!
I have to agree about the caipirinhas…I just was not a fan. Love the idea but the drink just wasn’t for me! I much preferred drinking coconut water straight out of the coconut in Brazil!
i have to remember this challenge! it’s great 🙂 and the caprioska sounds super tasty 🙂
I think the smell would turn me off, too. But your alternative looks really delicious, so refreshing!
The mango drink looks very refreshing! I was thinking about a mango recipe all weekend, I almost have my concept ready to try 🙂
Your mango drink sounds like a great summer cocktail!
kat – It is and the best part are the big pieces of mango.
erica – Oh, I love a good beer too. 🙂
Sweta – He should like it for sure. It is a great combo.
Tangled Noodle – Ha! It had a lot to do with us moving here. My husband used to bring cachaca home from his trips there and I loved it when he made them at home. It is just the smell association now. 🙁
Sapuche – Stay tuned for sure. I’ve got some great entries coming in!
Michelle – I’m just much more of a Caribbean drink fan. I love Caribbean rum. It took me a while to get used to coconut water, but now I drink it as my post workout rehydration. I really enjoy it.
Heather – The mango in it is so good!
5 Star – I can’t wait to see your entry!
Emily – Definitely a great summer choice.
That cocktail looks yummy. I’m still thinking about what to enter for the contest! Mango is on sale at my local grocery store here in London so I stocked up yesterday for experimenting…I have no clue as to what I will come up with.