June 12 Is International Cachaça Day

Photo Credit: Mantelli

Think of it as just like the American Repeal Day, just with a longer and likely bloodier history.

The folks at Cabana described International Cachaça Day in their pitch as:

International Cachaça Day was started by Sociedade Brasileira da Cachaça, a Brasilian government organization. It was created to commemorate June 12th, 1744: the day when Portugal, then the colonial authority in Brasil, outlawed the production and selling of cachaça.

Cabana, Leblon, and Boca Loca are all over this.

First, three restaurants in Chicago (and presumably elsewhere) will be pouring specialty drinks featuring Cabana. The most interesting of these is the Tropical Caipirinha, served at The Signature Room (875 N. Michigan Ave.).

Tropical Caipirinha

• 1.5oz Cabana Cachaça
• ½ oz simple syrup (1/2 shot)
• 3 oz lychee puree
• Splash of soda water

There's also going to be a tasting event at UnCork It (393 E Illinois Street) from 5-8pm. Leticia and I will probably be there, then bounce across the street for dinner at Niu and then Terminator: Salvation at the AMC. 

(For those of you about to jump all over me for taking my pregnant wife to a spirits tasting followed by sushi... Drop dead. She doesn't drink and we don't touch the raw fish.) 

Boca Loca, true to form, is working with leading mixologists to help us all get out of the caipirinha rut. Here's one from longtime Boca Loca collaborator Jeffrey Morgenthaler (interviewed last year) who, in addition to his masterful mixology skills, probably comes up with the best names for drinks:

Border Agitation

• 1.5 oz Boca Loca Cachaça
• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
• 0.5 oz simple syrup
• 0.5 oz egg white
• 2 tsp pepper jelly
• Bitter lemon soda 

Shake ingredients with ice until well chilled. Double-strain into a
Collins glass over ice. Top with 2 oz bitter lemon soda.

Leblon makes the argument that, in some ways, cachaça is still held captive. This time, the antagonists are not Portuguese colonists but American regulators, who insist that the third-most-distilled spirit in the world be labeled "Brazilian Rum" here in the states. 

Oh, how my devout Libertarian soul shudders at the Nanny State reality of it all...

Finally, here are some related posts from around the Web, most with recipes:

• A Muddled Thought: "Okay so what does this mean? Well first of all it’s an excuse to make cocktails using cachaça."
• Republic of Rum: "The Brazilian Association of Spirits (ABRABE) reports that Brazil produces some 4,000 brands of cachaça, totaling a billion liters each year."
• Nightclub & Bar: "Operators looking for an edge are increasing their cachaça and Caipirinha load — not easy, as few of the new brands are available nationally. The Sunset Lounge at the Mondrian Hotel in Miami Beach offers nearly 50 cachaças and a selection of Caipirinhas infused with flavors such as lychee-elderflower and peach-lemongrass." 
• SFGate: "[The Cantina in San Francisco] already carries at least 27 versions of Brazil's national spirit, which is made from distilled cane juice and used in the caipirinha. On Thursday, it will offer a menu of harder-to-find cachaças such as Weber Haus, which won the Best White Spirit award at the recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and Armazem Vieira. Owner Duggan McDonnell is creating a menu of creative cachaça cocktails, and of course there will be caipirinhas and a Brazil-themed DJ." 
• Metromix New York: "And so, bars and restaurants around the [NYC] have put together their finest cachaça-based drinks for your enjoyment, all day."