Author: Thomas Henry Strenk
Brooklyn-based writer specializing in all things drinkable
Cachaca and pisco are often lumped in with rum or tequila, but these two unique spirits from south of the equator may be the next hot on-premise trend. Both are eminently mixable and, thanks to recent quality improvements, smoothly sippable. Here are a few reasons why they belong on your drinks list.
Cachaca. Hailing from Brazil, cachaca is a close cousin of rum. It’s distilled from fermented sugarcane juice rather than molasses (a byproduct of sugar refining) from which most rums are made. Most cachaca is drunk in Brazil, where it is the most consumed and popular spirit. The majority are distilled only once and a bit rough around the edges, but a few artisanal producers are giving cachaca the care and respect it deserves, with pot still distilling and wood ageing. A few top-shelf examples are available now in the U.S. and more are on their way.
Rumbar in the Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne, Florida, for example, offers about 10 cachacas alongside its extensive rum selection, including Agua Luca, Leblon, Pirassununga and Pitu. It also offers a $25 tasting flight of 1-oz. pours of three cachacas to whet customers’ appetites.
The Caipirinha is the traditional cocktail; a simple but elegant concoction of lime juice, simple syrup and cachaca. But you can use the Brazilian spirit in any drink where rum is called for. And mature aged cachaca can be served in a snifter for sipping just like Scotch or Cognac.
Pisco. Technically, the South American spirit is a brandy, because it has a grape base, but it’s more often referred to as aguardiente (translation: “firewater”). Wrangling between Chile and Peru as to which country makes the best Pisco is intense. There is a town called Pisco in Peru but production of the brandy began long before those countries were established; pisco is a Quechua word from the indigenous peoples.
Chile has launched large-scale commercial production of pisco, many examples of which can be found in the U.S. Peru largely depends on small-scale artisanal producers, with stricter regulations. Pisco is made from a number of different grapes, including Muscat, Quebrante and Italia.
Rumbar carries Capel Reservado from Chile and Barsol, Ocucaje and Montesierpe from Peru.
Pisco Sour, of course, is the classic drink; made with pisco, lime juice, simple syrup, frothed with egg white and dotted with Angostura bitters. When I visited Lima, my Pisco Sour was garnished with fresh coca leaves, but a lime wedge will do. Try substituting pisco for tequila in margaritas or rum in a daiquiri.
Tags: Arcoroc, cardinalglass, Spirits