Grapes are a somewhat under-explored cocktail ingredient, in my opinion. During a Sunday morning breeze through my RSS feeds, I found two that feature cachaca.
First from Naren Young of Leblon's "Naren and Jacob" vids, courtesy of Epicurious:
Caipirinha de Uva
- 4 lime wedges (from 1/2 lime)
- 7 green grapes
- 2 teaspoons raw sugar, such as turbinado or Demerara
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cachaca
- 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) semisweet white wine such as Gewürztraminer
- 8 to 10 ice cubes
In cocktail shaker, stir together lime wedges, 5 grapes, and sugar. Using wooden muddler or spoon, pound and press until fruit is crushed and juices are released. Add cachaca, wine, and ice, and shake vigorously for 25 seconds. Pour into old-fashioned glass. Thread remaining 2 grapes onto skewer, place in drink, and serve immediately.
Charles Steadman of Confessions of a Palm Beach Bartender weighs in:
Having served it in an Asian restaurant and sushi bar, this west meets east match did quite well. The cachaça was softened with a little organic sweetener. Then, the cooling effect of basil was added to help with that south Florida heat. Toss in a few muddled grapes for crispness and fresh lime to round it out and we had created an outsider to the cuisine that snuck its way in and impressed the masses.
Green Gaijin
- 1 1/2 oz. Leblon Cachaça
- 5-6 Green Grapes
- 1 1/2 oz. Organically Sweetened Basil Lime Juice
- Splash Fiji Soda Water
- Garnish: Fresh basil leaf wrapped around a green grape
Preparation: Muddle grapes in a mixing tin. Add Leblon and sweetened basil lime juice with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a highball with ice. Splash Fiji soda water on top.
To make organically sweetened basil lime juice. Use the ratio of 1 oz. of fresh basil to every 6 oz. of fresh lime juice and 3 oz. of agave nectar. Combine all in a blender. Blend fine then run through a chinois to remove thickness.
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