Caipirinha
Brazil’s national cocktail of cachaça muddled with lime and sugar over ice.
The Caipirinha is a built muddled sour that depends on ripe lime, sugar, and cachaça rather than measured citrus juice alone. Muddling the lime releases oils from the peel as well as juice, giving the drink a sharper aromatic edge than a shaken daiquiri-style sour. Served over ice in the glass it is built in, it is rustic, bright, and spirit-forward. It is widely treated as Brazil’s national cocktail.
Ingredients
- • 2 oz cachaça
- • 1 lime cut into wedges
- • 2 tsp granulated sugar
Did you know?
“The Caipirinha is recognized as Brazil’s national cocktail and is defined by cachaça muddled with lime and sugar rather than a shaken juice sour.”
Bartender's Note
Muddle firmly enough to release juice and oils without shredding the lime into bitterness. Use true cachaça, not white rum.
Missing a bottle? See smart swaps in Learn.
How to make the Caipirinha
- 1Add lime wedges and sugar to a rocks glass and to extract juice and oils
- 2Fill the glass with ice
- 3Add cachaça
- 4Stir briefly to combine and serve
