Nothing says a perfect day in Brazil quite like a cold caipirinha. Whether sunbathing on the busy beaches of Rio or striding the wide avenues of Sao Paulo, the cocktail of choice is naturally that famous blend of cachaça, sugar and lime.
“The caipirinha is like the ultimate summer drink,” says Kent Thompson, bar director at Isla in Santa Monica, California. “Almost like a daiquiri on steroids.”
The cocktail also serves as an introduction to cachaça, the distilled sugar cane-based spirit. The Brazilian mainstay is most easily compared to rum (though more directly to rhum agricole) and has a fruity, grassy and funky palate. “Cachaça has that beautiful vegetal flavor that just pops,” explains Thompson.
This is all to say, if you’re looking to mix up your standard summer drink order, order a caipirinha. Or, even better, shake one up at home. Here’s everything you need to know about the classic Brazilian cocktail.
What Is a Caipirinha?
Made with cachaça, sugar, lime and ice, the caipirinha is the national cocktail of Brazil. But it’s actually “merely the most famous member of a large, native class of mixed drinks, [known as] the batidas,” according to The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, all of which are shaken cocktails. (In Portuguese, “batida” means shaken or milkshake.) At its heart, the caipirinha is a punch—a mixture of spirits, citrus juice, sugar and water.
The caipirinha’s most important ingredient, of course, is cachaça. Similar to rum, cachaça is an alcohol distilled from sugar cane and has been a staple in Brazil since the 1600s. It comes in two varieties: Unaged, also known as “branca” (white) or “prata” (silver), and aged, called “amarela” (yellow) or “ouro” (gold). Unaged cachaças offer the kind of funky tropical notes usually found in rhum agricole, as well as vegetal and bright banana aromas. Meanwhile, aged varieties take on additional notes of cinnamon and vanilla.
“The main difference between cachaça and rum, when it comes to flavor, is the freshness of the cachaça,” says Caio Carvalhaes, head bartender at Sao Paulo’s Tan Tan, one of Brazil’s top cocktail bars. “Coming from the distillation of fermented sugar cane juice, it retains notes of still fresh fruit and its original flavor. [In comparison,] rum, made from fermented molasses, [often] has notes of caramel.”
Until the later part of the 20th century, the caipirinha and its main spirit component remained relatively unknown outside of Brazil and Portugal. But later, in the 1980s, “it enjoyed a strong vogue in Europe, where it remains popular, and in places that look to Europe for drinking trends,” notes The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails. However, despite “frequent efforts from cachaça importers” in the U.S., the drink remains “more mentioned than served” stateside. That seems to be changing, though: Thanks to recent efforts by new, high-end cachaça producers and the spirit’s continued popularity in Europe, the cocktail has become more prevalent in America.
In Brazil, caipirinhas are often prepared in a single large cocktail shaker and then poured into individual glasses, but can also made one at a time. It tastes somewhat similar to other tropical drinks prepared with citrus, sugar and alcohol, like a margarita or a daiquiri.
“There is some debate regarding sweetness, but typically, it should be tart and refreshing,” says Richard Boccato, owner of Dutch Kills Bar in Long Island City, New York. “It’s similar to the classic daiquiri in its sweet-to-tart ratio.”
Where Does the Caipirinha Get Its Name?
Brazilians originally called the drink “pinga com limão.” Pinga is one of cachaça’s many other names, while com limão (meaning “with lemon” in Brazilian Portuguese) is a reference to the drink’s citrus component. In the first half of the 20th century, it also became known as the batida Paulisa, which roughly translates to “Sao Paulo shake.”
The moniker “caipirinha” wasn’t commonly used until the 1960s. It’s a diminutive, feminine form of the word “caipira,” which refers to someone from the rural parts of south-central Brazil in Brazilian Portuguese. Somewhat similar to the American word “hillbilly,” the word is of unknown provenance.
Where Does the Caipirinha Come From?
The drink’s origins remain somewhat mysterious, but many believe it was invented in São Paulo in the late 1800s. It’s thought to be inspired by poncha, an alcoholic drink from Madeira, the Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The cocktail’s transatlantic voyage and evolution is likely due to the sugar cane industry, which Madeira once dominated. The sugar cane industry later moved to Brazil at the beginning of the 17th century.
Pinga com limão started to pop up in the mid-19th century when used as “a cure for the evil eye,” according to The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, which also notes that in 1856, the town of Paraty “was forced to issue it during a cholera epidemic so that people wouldn’t drink the water.” For years, people used caipirinha to cure viral illnesses—similar to how people used poncha in Madeira.
The caipirinha as we know it today is a bit more sophisticated than the pinga com limão, which lacked simple sugar and wasn’t served over ice.
Caipirinha Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 lime, cut into wedges and pith removed
- ¾ oz simple syrup
- 2 oz barrel-aged cachaça (preferably Novo Fogo)
- 5 ice cubes
Instructions
Place limes and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker and muddle until well combined. Add cachaça and ice. Shake until cold and dump into a rocks glass. Add extra ice, if needed, until the glass looks full.
FAQs
How to Pronounce Caipirinha
In the U.S., the common phonetic pronunciation is kai-pr-ee-nyuh. A more traditional Portuguese pronounciation, however, can be achieved by saying “kai” (rhymes with “pie”), “pea” (as in “pea pod”), “rin” (like “ring,” but without the “g”) and “n-yah” (like “ña” in Spanish).
Are There Variations of a Caipirinha?
In addition to other batidas, the caipirinha has inspired many variations. Those looking for a cross between the Brazilian cocktail and a strawberry daiquiri try a strawberry basil caipirinha. If you’re more interested in bananas, you could mix up a banana batida. For a more citrusy and floral beverage, try a Da Hora.
What’s the Difference Between a Mojito and a Caipirinha?
The mojito and caipirinha are both summery drinks with Latin American origins made with sugar cane-based alcohols. That, however, is where similarities end. The mojito originated in Cuba and is made with rum, mint, sugar and lime juice. The caipirinha, meanwhile, is made with cachaça, muddled limes and sugar.
Additionally, a mojito is a lime-forward drink that is sweet, fizzy and minty. A caipirinha tends to have a more complex flavor, thanks to the cachaça. It carries a more vegetal note alongside a tangy, oily zip from the limes. It’s also generally lighter than a mojito.
What’s the Difference Between a Margarita and a Caipirinha?
The margarita and the caipirinha are both refreshing punches—a mixture of spirits, citrus juice, sugar and water. They also both hail from Latin America and are perfect for hot days. While the margarita uses tequila as its base alcohol, a caipirinha uses cachaça.
Margaritas are also sometimes made with a base mix so they taste sweeter. In contrast, a caipirinha tends to offer a deeper, vegetal flavor alongside the rich lime. Additionally, the limes are muddled in caipirinhas, giving added depth.
Last Updated: August 11, 2023
