Cachaçagora - Cachaça, Caipirinha, And Cocktails

Cachaça Petisco da Vila: Treasure in the Mall

Sometime last June, while visiting Rio after a business trip in São Paulo, my mother-in-law took me to a very special place.

She took me to the mall.

Now, new readers might understandably judge me on this basis and consider such a trip somewhere between a gross affront to all world travelers ("You crossed the equator to go to... the mall?") and an incredibly unmanly capitulation ("You crossed the equator so that... your mother-in-law could take you to the mall?"). Long-time readers know better: 1) My mother-in-law is cooler than any of us and 2) me going out of my way to go to a shopping mall is a truly Nixon-goes-to-China moment. 

Now, within this mall is something you will be hard-pressed to find in the U.S.—something that the various needling do-gooders and joyless regulators would never allow to widely proliferate in the country that at one time held freedom as its highest-order ideal. 

Heard of a brewpub? Well, I present to you Petisco da Vila: a distillery pub in the Nova América mall (among other locations). 

More details, along with video and a slideshow, after the jump. 

Scoop: Leblon to Debut Açai-infused Liqueur

Yesterday, I met Ben Weinbroer of Leblon and got something I wasn't quite expecting: a scoop.

Meet Cedilla, or at least the tiny sample of it that I still have:

According to the marketing brochure, Cedilla features "hand-picked...açai berries from the Amazon region of Brazil, macerated and blended with the highest quality alambique cachaça." It'll be bottled at 25% ABV. 

It has the characteristics of a very light ruby port, equally comfortable neat as an after-dinner drink or, according to one of their recipes, as a substitute for simple syrup to make a perhaps rather stiff "açai caipirinha." (A combination I'm eager to try.) Another recommended preparation is the Rio Royale: one part Cedilla to four parts sparkling wine or prosecco.

Cachaça-based liqueurs are a bit of an under-explored territory, in my opinion. I'm a big fan of the Gabriela, which is a somewhat heavier aperitif that features a blend of cachaça, clove and cinnamon. Maxi Cana, introduced to readers a few months ago, makes an excellent one. 

For those who don't know, "cedilla" is the proper term for this character (ç), which is common to both the words "cachaça" and "açai", giving both their "s" sound. Based on a Google search, Leblon has gone to some significant lengths to trademark this word. 

Now, ahem... There's just the small, teeny, tiny matter of the logo itself. Here's mine, familiar to those who follow me on Facebook and Twitter:

And Cedilla's:

Coincidence? Probably. Let's just say that I kind of feel like how Spinal Tap must have felt when Metallica came out with a "none more black" album of their own in 1991.

In any event, Leblon has a few more things up its sleeve for 2012. In the meantime, look for Cedilla around the first quarter or so. 

Scoop: Cachaça Werneck Gets Export License, New Products Coming

I received some very good news the other day: Cachaça Werneck, by far one of the best finds I've had over the past year, just received Brazilian regulatory approval for export. 

I had the fortune of visiting the distillery and meeting its eponymous proprietor, Eli Werneck. The photo slideshow is below. Read my interview with Eli about his export news after the jump. 

Thoughts on the Sagatiba Sale

This week, in the midst of an earnings announcement that proved that people will find money for a drink in a crappy economy, drinks giant Gruppo Campari announced that it is buying Sagatiba for $26 million. Campari was Sagatiba's distributor in Latin America. 

As I've been telling cachaça marketers for some time now: If you can't figure out how to make cachaça a world-class category by 2014 (Brazil's hosting of the World Cup) or 2016 (the Olympics), then please, for the love of God, find another career. Global spirits companies like Campari have the resources to see what the possible opportunities are, especially as all eyes will be fixed upon Brazil over the balance of this decade. I hope this means that they'll put some strong marketing muscle behind the category. 

As readers know, I find Sagatiba Pura good-not-great though I think that Velha shows great promise. Preçiosa? Never tried it, though the prices it has fetched at auction have been the source of some entertainment.

One thing is for sure: I spend a good part of my day job talking about the importance of having the right brand ambassador in an increasingly networked world, and Sagatiba's John Gakuru is without a doubt the hardest working one I know.

Now... Is there going to be a Sagatiba Calendar? :)

Don't worry, ladies. The good folks at Campari have Benico del Toro for you.

Top photo credit: Wellington Silva

Chicagoist on Cachaça Around the Windy City

Chicagoist has a great, timely feature on cachaça, highlighting bartender Peter Gugni of The Bedford. 

Gugni came to the Bedford from the Cantina, a San Francisco bar specializing in Latin American libations. "They had close to two dozen different cachaças," Gugni says. Tasting through the Cantina's collection gave him an appreciation for cachaça's subtleties. "You're trying each one side-by-side. That's when you can explore the possibilities of cachaça."

Novo Fogo and Leblon each get a mention. Chicagoist also gives up the recipe for Gugni's first Novo Fogo cocktail "Edison's Medicine" (with apologies to Tesla, I'm sure). 

Edison's Medicine, a popular Bedford cocktail featuring Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça,Yellow Chartreuse, fresh basil, agave syrup and lime (recipe below). "It's very round and full," Gugni says of the Novo Fogo Silver. Its slightly unctuous texture can lend drinks a luscious feel. "It's a very simple cocktail, but all those flavors really come together and complete each other." The bright green, basil-tinged color of the drink looked medicinal to Gugni, hence the rhyming name.

Here's the drink. For my stateside readers (which is most of you) enjoy your Fourth:

Edison's Medicine

• 1 1/2 ounces Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça
• 1/2 ounce Yellow Chartreuse 
• 1 ounce lime juice 
• 3/4 ounce agave syrup 
• 3 sprigs fresh basil

Gently muddle basil in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add remaining ingredient and ice. Shake hard and double-strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with orange zest.

 

How Sweet It Is... At Maxi Cana

Cachaçagora is, as you've no doubt noticed by now, not my day-job. As the sidebar on the left-hand side of my site says, I'm an SVP at Edelman, the world's largest independently owned PR firm. 

As part of this job, I help out with ABERJE's professional communications certificate program in São Paulo every year, speaking to the communications folks from some of Brazil's finest companies about the intersection between corporate affairs and social media. (ABERJE is a Brazilian professional organization for people in my line of work.) After doing this for three out of the last four years, I was finally able to puddle-jump to Rio and visit with my sogros (in-laws) for a couple of days before heading back to Chicago.

This, of course, meant cachaça... Lots and lots of cachaça.

First thing the morning after I landed in Rio, I boarded a bus with the Confraria de Cachaça Copo Furado, the cachaça-appreciation society in which my in-laws are very active.

Yes, I have the coolest in-laws in the world. Stew in your jealousy for a bit, and then read about where we went after the jump.

Wrap-up: Brazil-In-Chicago Cachaça Tasting

Photo Credit: Leticia Gomes

It was a night to remember, at least for those of us who didn't sample that much cachaça. Those of us who might've given up alcohol for lent would have taken solace in the fact that, well, at least it was already Sunday in Jerusalem by the time we got started. 

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of working with Marcelo Jarmendia of Brazil in Chicago to put together a tasting of some of the best cachaças around. Locally available and otherwise, the products tasted by the intimate, capacity gathering provided a well-rounded survey of the state of artesanal cachaças today.

The evening started with a discussion of the Confraria de Cachaça do Copo Furado (Rio's cachaça appreciation society) by my mother-in-law, Cláudia Fernandes, who once served as its president. My father-in-law, José Alberto Kede, then went into detail about the history and production of cachaça.

After my schpiel about my experience with cachaça and building this site (even sharing the Maria Izabel feature), we went straight to the tasting. Details after the jump.

Cachaça Featured at MyNewOrleans

There's a fun exploration of cachaça from someone apparently new to quality product over at MyNewOrleans.Com:

The 12 cachaças of various labels and quality levels that I tasted were within a broad range of flavors and aromas. At the lower end, they were like cheap vodka: hot, very little flavor and pretty difficult to appreciate. I noted that these would be fine in mixed drinks as the addition of fruit juice, sugar or citrus would mask the savage qualities. 

But in the better products, both younger and older in age, the cachaça took on a more interesting, complicated, layered quality. Notice I did not say “subtle.” Cachaças are not shy, and these higher-priced products were quite forward. Yet, they were darned interesting and really delightful. The discovery process was a fine journey. 

 Read more over at MyNewOrleans.

Tasting Event with Brazil-In-Chicago This Saturday

I'm proud to be working with Marcelo Jarmendia of Brazil In Chicago to put together what will be an incredible tasting event featuring world-class cachaças.

Here's the scoop:

• Saturday, April 23, 2011
• 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
• Brazil in Chicago
• 2212 W. Sunnyside Ave. (Basement)
• $30 / RSVP [email protected]

The evening will start with my in-laws Cláudia Fernándes and José Alberto Kede, talking about the significance of cachaça, how it's made, and how to appreciate the finer specimens. I'll then talk a little bit about the experience of building this site, what I've learned about cachaça, and what I think it would take for cachaça to succeed in North America. 

All told, we're going to taste about eight cachaças from at least five brands, but this could expand in the next few days. Some of the cachaças to be sampled can only be had in Brazil. Fear not, though: at least three have been selected for their current (or, at least, imminent) broad U.S. availability.

As to those available in the U.S., these distillers have generously contributed product to the event, for which they've earned a hearty "saúde!" from your humble editor:

• Cabana Cachaça
• Copa Cachaça
• Novo Fogo

Also thrilled to be sampling Werneck (a high-quality cachaça, from the former president of Volvo Penta Brasil no less, and one of the highlights of my most recent trip) as well as a longtime personal favorite, Monte Alvão. 

The event will be in both Portuguese and English, but we'll do our best to make it meaningful for all. We'll also be serving appetizers. 

Admission is $30, with proceeds going to furthering Brazil In Chicago's mission to be the midwest's center for evangelism of Brazilian culture. Attendance is strictly capped at 20. RSVP at [email protected].

Taking a Ride with Emilio Lobato on the Cachaça Express

One of the most rewarding things about running this site has been hearing (and re-telling) the stories I hear from all parts of the cachaça production and marketing value-chain. Readers have heard plenty from distillers, and a bit less from bartenders, but virtually nothing about retail. 

Emilio Lobato of Cachaça Express contacted me recently and I interviewed him over email. He started Cachaça Express in late 2010 as "so far, the best reference in Brazil in terms of cachaça selection, content, usability and design."

After a cursory browse of the site and its selection, it's hard to disagree. Cachaça Express has everything from Cachaçagora favorites like Coqueiro to life-in-Diddy's-liquor-cabinet fare such as Cachaça Havana, a Playboy-Brasil-lauded tipple that will set you back $R350 (US$211) for a mere 600ml bottle.

You can shop by price (for most of us), type (aged, white, etc.), and (for us real cachaça nerds) region of origin. 

Read the interview and find out more after the jump.