Cachaçagora - Cachaça, Caipirinha, And Cocktails

Drinkhacker Reviews Sagatiba

Christopher Null at Drinkhacker takes a look at Sagatiba Pura:

Sagatiba is a largely representative example of the spirit, 80 proof, fairly clean and noticeably sweet when sipped straight. There is citrus — lemon/lime and a bit of orange — on the tongue in a shot, but things are far improved with sugar and lime, the way cachaça is meant to be consumed.

Strange, though, that both on its own and in a caipirinha, I got a moderately strong sour character from Sagatiba, something I don’t think I’ve seen in other cachaças.

A couple of thoughts on the review.

Cachaça is "meant to be consumed" with sugar and lime? Hell... Any means short of an IV drip is fine with me! (And I think even that might be negotiable.)

I gave Sagatiba Pura a three-and-a-half-barrel rating, not so much because I detected a sourness in the product, but because I felt that many of the more flavorful cachaça characteristics appeared distilled out of it. For that reason, I compared it to a vodka — Sagatiba tended to "disappear" into my caipirinha the way most people expect good vodka to do in a cocktail.

Drinkhacker Reviews Leblon

Drinkhacker gives Leblon a "B+" rating:

If you’re looking for textbook cachaça, Leblon is as close as I’ve come to finding something that exhibits the highlights and the curiosities about this intriguing sugar cane spirit.

Like author Christopher Null, I too have received Leblon's review kit. I look forward to writing the review later this week.

Over at My Life On The Rocks, Lance Mayhew is working on his own Leblon review.

You know... This PR thing apparently works. Maybe I ought to think of it as a career.

*chuckles*

Armazem Viera Reviewed, With Julep Cocktail Recipe

About Armazem Viera:

The thing, though, is that the Armazem Viera Esmeralda has an interesting smoky and slightly bitter character.

When mixed with bitters and vermouth, sweet or dry, it just seemed to highlight unfortunate characters of either the vermouth, the bitters, or the cachaça.

When I asked some folks about it, they didn’t have many suggestions. The only real answer I got, aside from complicated drinks with more than one spirit, was, “how about a julep?”

Well, alright, how about a julep?

Agua Luca Cachaça Reviewed

Product Review- Agua Luca:

Tasting Agua Luca was a revelation. This is a very mixable and versatile liquor, able to add some interesting notes to drinks where, say vodka or rum would be the norm. Even better though, when I tasted Agua Luca, I realized that I was drinking something that could best be described as sexy. I don't generally describe alcohol in these terms, but there was something raw and uninhibited about this cachaca, something primal and something that screamed sex.