Average
Sweet & Sour
4 minutes
Rocks Glass
Ingredients
The Caipirinha is an easy to make cocktail made from the Brazilian spirit cachaça together with muddled lime and sugar. So loved is this cocktail in Brazil that it’s the country’s national cocktail.
In the video, you’ll see Rico make two versions of the Caipirinha – a traditional shake-and-dump version, which is the version you’ll find in Brazil, and a “built” version, which is the version you’ll likely find in bars everywhere else in the world.
How to Make a caipirinha
Bar tools you’ll need
Jigger
Knife
Muddler
Boston Shaker
Citrus Press
How to make a shaken Caipirinha
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- Wash your lime(s), then cut them into quarters, aiming for about four to six pieces per lime.
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2. Place the lime quarters into the smaller tin of a Boston shaker.
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3. Add sugar directly to the shaker.
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4. Muddle the lime and sugar until the sugar dissolves and you’ve extracted as much juice as possible from the lime pieces.
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5. Measure and pour Cachaça into the shaker using a jigger or measuring tool.
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6. Add ice cubes to the shaker.
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7. Connect the shaker tins and shake vigorously.
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8. Separate the shaker tins and pour the cocktail directly into a rocks glass.
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9. Insert a drinking straw into the glass.
How to make a built Caipirinha
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- Wash your lime(s), then cut them into quarters, aiming for about four to six pieces per lime.
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2. Add the lime quarters to a rocks glass.
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3. Measure and add sugar to the glass.
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4. Muddle the lime and sugar directly in the glass until the sugar dissolves and you’ve extracted as much juice as possible from the lime pieces.
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5. Measure and pour Cachaça into the glass using a jigger or measuring tool.
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6. Fill the glass three-quarters full with crushed ice.
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7. Stir everything well with a bar spoon.
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8. Top up with more crushed ice to form a cone on top.
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9. Garnish with a lime wedge.
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10. Insert a drinking straw directly into the glass.
Watch Rico make two versions of the Caipirinha!
All about the Caipirinha
Caipirinha is an alcoholic drink and Brazil’s national cocktail made with three ingredients – cachaça, lime juice and sugar served in a rocks glass.
“The vegetal flavor of the cachaça coming right through, perfectly balanced out with the sweet-sour mix of the lime and sugar. It’s beautiful and the only flavor of Brazil” exclaims Rico.
“Cachaça is quite a fiery spirit – it’s not one for the faint of heart but in a Caipirinha it’s very accessible,” he adds.
It’s believed that the Caipirinha was created around 1918 in São Paulo’s countryside, Brazil, with the (erroneous) belief that it served as a remedy for the Spanish flu. The early recipe included cachaça, lime, garlic, and honey, but it was later refined into the modern version with sugar and ice, omitting the garlic and honey.
The name “Caipirinha” means “country little girl.” Unlike popular spirits such as rum, vodka, or whiskey, which are often enjoyed straight as well as in cocktails, cachaça, a spirit native to Brazil, is mainly consumed when mixed into Caipirinhas.
- Muddle the lime and sugar properly
When you’re muddling those lime wedges and sugar, give it some elbow grease to really extract the juice and dissolve the sugar.
Note: Use a sturdy rocks glass (aka old fashioned glass) to avoid your glass breaking while muddling!
- “Schmuddle” your ingredients
Once you’ve properly muddled the lime and sugar, it’s time to “schmuddle” your drink – Rico’s own term for giving it a great stir. Schmuddling means flipping the ingredients around with your bar spoon to really mix things up.So, after muddling, add some crushed ice, give everything a good flip with your bar spoon, and then top it off with more crushed ice to create a cone-like shape on top of the glass.
- With rich syrup instead of sugar
A popular recipe variation for the Caipirinha replaces the caster sugar for about 15-20 ml of rich syrup. You’ll still muddle the lime, but with the rich syrup instead. Rich syrup is similar to simple syrup but rich syrup has a 2:1 sugar-to-water ratio, giving it a thicker consistency. - Cherry Caipirinha
This Caipirinha variation sticks to the classic recipe but adds fresh cherry pieces to the mix, muddled together with the lime right in the glass. It also calls for simple syrup instead of caster sugar or rich syrup.This twist on a classic Caipirinha is a must try with those cherry notes working so well with the cachaça. Check out our recipe for a Cherry Caipirinha.
- Whether you’re making a built Caipirinha or a shake-and-dump version, we recommend serving the drink in a rocks glass.
- Garnish is optional. If you prefer to add a garnish to your Caipirinha, we suggest a lime wedge.
- Serve your Caipirinha with a drinking straw. Other people prefer serving their Caipirinha with a stirrer instead of a straw. The choice is yours!
Drink more Caipirinha, baby!
Bartender and Global Brand Ambassador
Caipirinha FAQ
Cachaça is a Brazilian spirit, and it is its own category.
“Cachaça is a little bit like a Martinique Rum, but Rum is usually made from molasses whereas Cachaça is actually made from the sugar cane juice,” explains Rico.
“Cachaça becomes more vegetal in aroma and it’s not as sweet and sugary as what you would find in a rum but it’s perfect for this drink and is perfect in this drink if you want to get the full flavor and taste of Brazil in your mouth,” he shares.
“It’s quite a fiery spirit,” shares Rico. Cachaça is a mix of sweet, grassy, and earthy notes with the fresh taste of sugarcane. When aged, it boasts tropical flavors, featuring hints of fruit, pepper, and spices like cinnamon, vanilla, and clove.
It depends on whether you’re making a shaken Caipirinha or a built one.
“In Brazil, it’s really hot, and crushed ice doesn’t really exist in drinks. So, when you get a Caipirinha in Brazil, you’re usually going to get a cubed one, explains Rico. “The one that you probably used to see in cocktail bars is the built in the glass and crushed ice version.”
That’s up to you! It all comes down to personal preference.
“Personally, I’m a shake-and-dump kinda guy. For me, that shake puts all the ingredients together. It makes it taste whole” says Rico.
Try it yourself and see which version you prefer!
A Caipirinha made with vodka instead of cachaça is what’s known as a Caipiroska. And it’s incredible. Check our drink recipe for a Caipiroska.
Yes, you can…except it would no longer be a Caipirinha since cachaça is key to what makes the drink what it is. A Caipirinha made with tequila will give your drink a Mexican twist, not unlike say a Margarita minus the triple sec.
Not quite. The Caipirinha’s key ingredient, cachaça, has a unique flavor profile that differentiates it from tequila, the base of a Margarita, resulting in two distinctly different tasting drinks.
Not really. Although both a Caipirinha and Mojito are made with fresh lime juice and sugar, the base spirits – cachaça and light rum respectively – are very different. What’s more, the Mojito uses mint. In other words, both drinks have very different taste profiles.
