Caipirinha

The caipirinha is Brazil’s national cocktail and is easy to make, clean, tart, and refreshing. The cocktail is made using cachaça, a liquor similar to rum, but made from sugarcane juice rather than molasses. If you have trouble finding cachaça at your local liquor store, feel free to substitute in in a white/light rum or even mezcal (just keep in mind that you’re not having a true a caipirinha!).

Yield: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a lime, quartered

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 2.5 oz. cachaça

• Muddler

• Shaker

• Ice

• Lime wedge for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Combine the lime pieces and sugar in the shaker. Muddle the limes to release the juices and begin to dissolve the sugar. Add the cachaça to the shaker and top with 6-8 ice cubes. Shake vigorously for at least 10 seconds, until well chilled. Dump the entire contents of the shaker into a highball glass. Garnish with a lime wedge, if desired.