A Caipirinha is the national drink. The drink is highly acclaimed for its bright and complex taste. This drink has been loved across the nation and, in recent years, across the globe. The drink’s popularity has prompted various variations since bartenders have altered the standard glass by adding fruit and liqueurs or substituting different base spirits.
This is the case for the Caipiroska. This straightforward version of Caipirinha does away with cachaca as a typical cachaca to favor vodka. The latter is the country’s national spirit. Like cachaca, it is made from sugarcane’s fermented juice cane. Its lively grassy flavor characterizes it. Vodka, on the other side, has a more light and straightforward flavor that makes alcohol that is lighter in taste.
For optimal results, bartender and author Tony Aboul-Ganim recommends making the fresh fruity Caipiroska using “a clean, neutral vodka with fruity, floral notes–something made from corn, wheat or mixed grain, something gentle.”
The Caipiroska isn’t just a variant or a training-wheels variant of the Caipirinha. It has grown in popularity in Brazil and other South American countries as more vodka brands come into the market, and people in Brazil are embracing the spirit.
The recommended recipe for the Caipiroska is exact and well worth following. Mix the limes and sugar to remove essential oils from the peels of lime, and you’ll get a more flavorful, decadent drink.
Ingredients
1 ounce simple syrup (or one tablespoon granulated white sugar)
One lime, cut into quarters
2 ounces vodka
Garnish: 4 lime quarters
Steps
Fill a rocks glass up with chilled ice that has been cracked, and then place it aside.
Add your simple syrup (or sugar) and lime quarters into a shaker.
Mix to remove the juice, but without removing the lime’s rind.
Pour the ice from the glass of rocks into the shaker, add the vodka, and shake until it is well chilled.
Pour the entire drink, including ice, into the relaxed and garnish glass with four lime quarters.
