Cachaçagora - Cachaça, Caipirinha, And Cocktails

Rejoice! Magnífica Comes to U.S. Shores as Copa Cachaça

Photo Credit: Leticia Gomes

To tell you the truth, I was never envious of the British until I found out during my visit to Magnífica Cachaça that the Las Iguanas chain of restaurants was going to get a private-labeled version of their incredible product. I comforted myself (if only a little) with the notion that the British taxation rules regarding booze meant that they'd get a somewhat alcohol-depleted version. ("And that," I said during a documentary outtake, "is why you people lost the Revolutionary War!")

My sense of American pride and exceptionalism notwithstanding, however, the simple fact was that they could get Magnífica and I couldn't. 

 

Jason Montgomery

So imagine my relief when Jason Montgomery, entrepreneur and VP of business development of Copa Cachaça, told me that his flagship product was actually Magnífica's Envelhecida. (Process: One-to-two years aged in Brazilian ipê wood, followed by at least two years in oak casks.) Better news: Copa was headed for U.S. shores.

Oh, how I positively gibbered with cachaça-coveting glee!

I had to learn more. My interview with Jason after the jump.  

Abelha Cachaça's Official Site Launches, Gives More Details On Social Responsibility

If you remember, diligent Flickr scanning got me the scoop on Abelha cachaça, which is currently a side project of London's Anthony Goh.

Anthony showed up in the comments to tell us that the official Abelha site is now live.

Most interesting is the site's description of the various imperatives for organic cachaça. As you know, the intersection of cachaça and social responsibility is a favorite topic of mine, particularly given the increased international attention on Brazil right now.

To this end, Abelha has gone so far as securing certifications on the export and import ends: Brazil's Instituto Biodinâmico (IBD) and the UK's Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G).

And, if Abelha's environmental and human-rights arguments aren't enough for you, there's always this one:

There’s a growing school of thought that says organic wines and spirits give less severe hangovers, as there are less odd chemicals in them. We’re happy to believe this, but in the name of good science, we will continue to experiment by drinking almost daily until we have collected enough results to make a statistically robust claim.

Hey... Whatever makes the case!

Scoop: Abelha Cachaça -- A Transatlantic Cachaça In The Works

Abelha Cachaca Gold, Silver and John
Originally uploaded by Abelha Cachaça

I became aware of Abelha by way of Flickr and struck up an email conversation with one of its responsible parties, Anthony Goh in London.

Right now, it's a hobby project that he's pursuing with a buddy of his while they both work at day jobs.

As of today, here are the facts as I know them:

• The farm is in Bahia, near Chapada Diamantinha
• Two varieties -- one clear/unaged and another aged for three years in 250L garapeira barrels
• Small-batch copper still process

Abelha also claims to practice completely organic farming methods, and even teach the small collective of cane-harvesting farmers (for free) how to farm organically. Of course, as I've said before, human-rights and sustainability factors will likely become an increasingly important selection variable for cachaça.

Abelha also holds a particular distaste for how some cachaça brands go for hot-chicks-and-beaches stereotypes in their marketing. (Evidently, Chicago wasn't so happy about one particular approach, for example.)

"We believe in doing business with good social and environmental conscience, but don't want to sound preachy all the time," Anthony points out. "We are just selling booze after all!"

Their home page isn't up yet, so I hope that there's more information to come. For now, here's a slideshow:

Stay tuned.

Sagatiba Intros "Velha" Cachaça In U.S.

Near as my searches can determine, Cocktail Times appears to have the scoop on Sagatiba's introduction of its Velha cachaça in the U.S.

From their post:

...Velha is handcrafted from fresh pressed cane, distilled in copper pot stills, and aged in oak barrels for at least two years.

Can't wait to try it. While I did enjoy their Pura white cachaça, I did feel that a lot of the character was distilled out of it.

The post also has a couple of Sagatiba-supplied cocktail recipes.

UPDATE 2008-08-08 12:25 CDT: It would appear that Cocktail Times went a little hair-trigger on their "Submit" button. I'm told now that we won't be seeing Velha until October.