cachaça

''Cachaça'' () is a distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice. Also known as ''pinga'', ''caninha'', and other names, it is the most popular spirit in Brazil.Cavalcante, Messias Soares. Todos os nomes da cachaça. São Paulo: Sá Editora, 2011. 392p. Outside Brazil, cachaça is used almost exclusively as an ingredient in tropical drinks, with the ''caipirinha'' being the most famous and popular cocktail. In Brazil, caipirinha is often paired with the dish '' feijoada''.

History

Sugar production was mostly switched from the Madeira islands to Brazil by the Portuguese in the 16th century. In Madeira, ''aguardente de cana'' is made by distilling fermented sugar cane juice into liquor, and the pot stills from Madeira were brought to Brazil to make what today is also called ''cachaça''. The process dates from 1532, when one of the Portuguese colonists brought the first cuttings of sugar cane to Brazil from Madeira.

The name ''Cachaça'' is legally protected; it can only be produced in Brazil, where, according to 2007 figures, are consumed annually, compared with outside the country. It is typically between 38% and 48% alcohol by volume.Cavalcante, Messias Soares. A verdadeira história da cachaça. São Paulo: Sá Editora, 2011. 608p. When homemade, it can be as strong as the distiller wants. Up to six grams of sugar per liter may be added.

Figures from 2003 indicate 1.3 billion liters of cachaça are produced each year; only 1% of this is exported (mainly to Germany).

Production

''Cachaça'', like rum, has two varieties: unaged (, "white" or ''prata'', "silver") and aged (''amarela'', "yellow" or ''ouro'', "gold"). White ''cachaça'' is usually bottled immediately after distillation and tends to be cheaper. Some producers age it for up to 12 months in wooden barrels to achieve a smoother blend. It is often used as an ingredient in caipirinha and other mixed beverages. Dark ''cachaça'', usually seen as the "premium" variety, is aged in wood barrels and is meant to be drunk neat. It is usually aged for up to 3 years, though some ultra-premium ''cachaças'' have been aged for up to 15 years. Its flavour is influenced by the type of wood the barrel is made from.

There are very important regions in Brazil where fine pot still ''cachaça'' is produced, such as Salinas in Minas Gerais state, Chã Grande in Pernambuco state, Paraty in Rio de Janeiro state, Monte Alegre do Sul in São Paulo, Luiz Alves in Santa Catarina state, and Abaíra in Bahia state. Nowadays, producers of ''cachaça'' can be found in most Brazilian regions, and in 2011, there were over 40,000 of them.

Heavy metals

''Cachaça'' is produced in copper stills. Levels of copper in homemade ''cachaças'' can exceed the legal limits established by Brazilian law. Some copper is considered desirable in the distillation process as a catalyst for the oxidation of sulfur compounds produced by fermentation, but the levels must be controlled by adequate maintenance and cleaning of the still to remove accumulated verdigris. Adsorbents are used, but the most commonly used adsorbents, activated carbon and ion-exchange resin, have been shown to alter the chemical composition of ''cachaça''. Sugarcane bagasse has been proposed as a selective adsorbent.

Synonyms

For more than four centuries of history, ''cachaça'' has accumulated synonyms and creative nicknames coined by the Brazilian people. Some of these words were created for the purpose of deceiving the supervision of the metropolis in the days when ''cachaça'' was banned in Brazil; the beverage was competing with the European distillate grappa. There are more than two thousand words to refer to the Brazilian national distillate. Some of these nicknames are: ''abre-coração'' (heart-opener), ''água-benta'' (holy water), ''bafo-de-tigre'' (tiger breath), and ''limpa-olho'' (eye-wash).

Difference from rum

In the beginning of the 17th century, the producers of sugar from various European colonies in the Americas used the by-products of sugar, molasses, and scummings as the raw material for the production of alcoholic spirits. The resulting beverage was known by several names: in British colonies, it was named ''rum''; in France, '' tafia''; in Spain, ''aguardiente de caña''; and in Portugal (Brazil), ''aguardente da terra'', ''aguardente de cana'' and later ''cachaça'' (locals also call it "Pinga", which translates to drip).

The major difference between ''cachaça'' and rum is that rum is usually made from molasses, a by-product after a refinery boils the cane juice to extract as much sugar crystal as possible, while ''cachaça'' is made from fresh sugarcane juice, fermented and distilled. Some rums, in particular, the rhum agricole of the French Caribbean, are also made by the latter process. ''Cachaça'' is also known as Brazilian rum.

In the United States, ''cachaça'' is recognized as a type of rum and distinctive Brazilian product, after an agreement was signed in 2013 with Brazil in which it will drop the usage of the term "Brazilian rum".

See also

* Guaro
* Cocktails with cachaça
* List of cachaça brands
* List of Brazilian drinks

References and notes

External links

Cachaça HUB - Initiative in Europe about cachaça

Know more ABOUT cachaça

O Álbum Virtual de Rótulos de Garrafas de Cachaça na Net
—Web site dedicated to cachaça labels. In English and Portuguese.

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Culture of Brazil
Brazilian distilled drinks
Culture in Minas Gerais
Sugar industry of Brazil
Sugar-based alcoholic drinks