Shake Up a Caipirinha, Recipe Included

The star of Brazil’s national cocktail, cachaça (kah-sha-sa), is a potent alcohol distilled from fermented sugarcane juice. By law, it must be produced in Brazil and contain 38 to 48 percent alcohol by volume. The cocktail is simple — just booze, sugar and lime juice — but it’s no shrinking violet. After a couple of these you might find yourself in the middle of the dance floor as the self-appointed samba king.

See Cook’s Note on how to make your own superfine sugar.

total time: 5 minutes

active prep: 5 minutes

serves: 1

difficulty: easy

Ingredients

• 1/2 a juicy lime, cut in 4 pieces
• 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
• 2 ounces cachaça
• Ice

special equipment

• cocktail shaker
• muddler

Directions

Put the lime wedges and sugar in a cocktail shaker.

Muddle to release as much lime juice as you can.

Pour in the cachaça and fill with ice. Shake and strain into a 10-ounce glass.

Cook’s Note

If you don’t want to keep superfine sugar around your kitchen, you can just whizz some granulated sugar in a spice grinder and you’re good to go.