Wednesday Weekend Warm Up

Caipirinha Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 lime
• 2 rounded teaspoons granulated sugar (superfine if ya got it)
• cachaca (kuh-SHA-suh; brazilian rum) – if u don’t have cachaca, u can substitute any other white rum or even vodka, but then you’d have to call the drink a caipivodka or caipiroska, don’t worry. by any other name, it still tastes just as sweet
• crushed ice
• a pestle, muddler, or a wooden spoon
• old-fashioned or ‘lowball’ glass tumbler
• sugarcane – optional garnish

Directions:

1. slice the ends off of the lime.
2. cut the lime into four wedges, then cut each of the wedges in half.
3. place the cut lime in the glass, and add the sugar.
4. give the sugar and lime a good pressing / mushing with your muddler, pestle or spoon – the point is to get all the juicy, pulpy goodness out of the limes and to dissolve most of the sugar so you don’t end up with a grainy beverage.
5. next, add the crushed ice almost to the top of the glass.
6. add the cachaca – again, almost filling the glass – and stir the mixture to combine everything.
7. serve with a stalk of sugarcane as a garnish, or just slip in your straw and enjoy!

from: Bon Vivant, image from: photo dictionary