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Posts Tagged ‘Cachaca’

Review: Porto Morretes (Ouro) Cachaca

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 25, 2014

cachaca_premiumLast fall a good friend of mine visited Brazil. I had asked him before the trip if he could find me a bottle of the Brazilian rum known as Cachaca (pronounced Ka sha sha). I was pleased when he returned just prior to Christmas with two small (170 ml) bottles of Port Morretes, the Prata (silver) and the Ouro (3-year-old premium).

In order to learn a little about the Porto Morrets Cachaca, I visited their website and with the help of Google Translate managed to decipher a bit about each spirit. The Porto Morretes Cachaça Ouro is (as near as I can tell from reading the Portuguese website) produced in the same manner as the previously reviewed Porto Morretes Prata Cachca; however rather than resting in a stainless steel tank, the spirit is aged for three years in oak barrels. This gives rise to new flavours drawn from the oak, and theoretically at least implies a smoother more well-rounded spirit.

SAM_1018 Decicio

Cachaca Delícia

You may read my full review by clicking the following excerpt link:

Review: Porto Morretes (Ouro) Cachaca

“… As I let the glass sit and breathe I noticed some nice oak spices building with soft green pepper and ginger impressions entering the breezes above the glass followed by lime citrus and a very soft chocolate caramel. A sweep of vanilla wafts into the air next as well with some peppermint and scattered tea leaves. I can tell that I am going to like this …”

Included at the end of the review is a nice sipping cocktail I devised for the Porto Morretes Ouro. I call it, Cachaca Delícia. This recipe allows the character of the aged Cachaca to meld into the sweeter flavour of Grand Marnier. The combination is simply wonderful!

Please enjoy my latest review as well as the delicious cocktail.

 

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Posted in Aged Cachaca, Cachaca | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Review: Porto Morretes (Prata) Cachaca

Posted by Arctic Wolf on April 8, 2014

cachaca_prataLast fall a good friend of mine visited Brazil. I had asked him before the trip if he could find me a bottle of the Brazilian rum known as Cachaca (pronounced Ka sha sha). I was pleased when he returned just prior to Christmas with two small (170 ml) bottles of Port Morretes, the Prata (silver) and the Ouro (3-year-old premium).

In order to learn a little about the Porto Morrets Cachaca, I visited their website and with the help of Google Translate managed to decipher a bit about each spirit. The Porto Morretes Prata (Silver) is produced from sugar cane syrup which has been fermented with natural (home-made) yeasts without the use of chemical additives. The fermentation is carried out in a controlled hygienic process using stainless steel vats eliminating unintended contamination. The resulting fermented syrup is distilled upon modern copper pot stills, and the resulting distillate is rested for a considerable time period (I believe the website indicates about a year) in stainless steel tanks. This resting period softens and prepares the spirit prior to bottling making it suitable to drink neat or to serve in cocktails like the Brazilian Caipirinha.

Amazing Tickle

Amazing Tickle

Here is an excerpt from my full review:

Review: Porto Morretes (Prata) Cachaca

“… The silver Cachaca is a clear spirit which shows no evidence of colour or aging. It has a firm vegetal aroma which reminds me of mushy over ripe bananas and soft bruised apples. There are hints of white pepper underneath, and perhaps a touch of sugar cane sweetness. I also sense a Tequila-like quality which reminds me of soft  although this spirit would never be mistaken for tequila in any sort of blind line-up …”

Of course, I needed to make a few cocktails. I began with a recipe of mine I call the Amazing Tickle which is my Caipirinha style recipe using lemon and orange rather than lime. I followed that up with a Margarita style recipe called the Macharita which uses Cachaca rather than Tequila at the heart of the recipe.

I hope you enjoy the review and the cocktail recipes which follow.

Cheers!

Posted in Cachaca, Silver Cachaca Review | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Review: Thoquino Silver Cachaca

Posted by Arctic Wolf on September 1, 2013

268672Cachaca Thoquino has been produced for more than a 100 years by the Aquino family, in Sao da Barra, (the Campos area) north of Rio de Janeiro. This is a traditional sugar cane region within Brazil, and in fact the harvest of sugar cane in this area can be linked back to the earliest settlement of the Brazil sometime between the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The “Thomaz de Aquino” company is amongst the few distilling companies to own its own sugar cane plantations. Therefore the company controls the entire process from the cane field to the Cachaca in the glass.

The Thoquino Cachaca is being marketed outside of Brazil by Giffard Dupius a spirits company well-known for their specialty liqueurs and syrups. In my home market, Nons Drinks To Go (Giffard Canada) is the local distributor, and they provided my sample.

You may click on the following excerpt (link) to read my full review:

Review: Thoquino Silver Cachaca

“… The initial aroma reminds me both of blanco tequila in that I sense an agave-like fruitiness with spicy white pepper, and very rum-like in that I sense the mildly sweet aroma of sugar cane with hints of banana and citrus, Although the impressions of tequila and white rum are in my mind, I must point out that the spirit has its own character. It carries more esters and musty fruit-like impressions than white rum, and it has a stronger vegetal presence in the glass than tequila …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a nice tall cocktail which I call the Mad Darby.

Cheers!

Posted in Cachaca, Cocktails & Recipes, Silver Cachaca Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Thoquino Silver Cachaca

Review: Leblon Natural Cane Cachaca

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 1, 2013

SAM_0867Leblon Cachaça is produced at the Leblon Distillery in Patos de Minas, in the center of Brazil’s major sugar cane growing region. At Leblon they use both traditional and European wine-making techniques to produce their Cachaca. According to the Leblon website:

“Gilles Merlet, famous master distiller from the Cognac region of France, takes Cachaça to a whole new level with his ‘French touch,’ transforming our distillery in Patos de Minas to the state-of-the-art Maison Leblon. Gilles produces small batches using alembique copper potstills, then polishes the Cachaça in XO Cognac Casks for an ultra-smooth taste. The Cachaça is then blended across batches for flavor complexity, body, and aroma.”

I find it interesting that as Cachaca is expanding its market appeal outside of Brazil, the spirit seems to be evolving to appeal to a broader audience. I expect the cognac enhancement will leave a tangible imprint upon the Leblon Cachaca’s flavour. I guess I will find out as I sample the spirit.

You may read my full review by clicking on the following link:

Review: Leblon Natural Cane Cachaca

“… The flavour is a unique mixture of sharp white pepper, and earthy flavours which remind me of lowland agave,  grilled zucchini and squash. (Actually, the sharpness of the white pepper also reminds me of agave.) There are also hints of zesty citrus flavours and a mild impression of  what I will call ‘musty grass’ …”

I mixed a few cocktails with the Leblon and feature the Caipirito at the end of the review. Enjoy!

Note: I was provided with a sample bottle of Leblon Cachaca for review by the Kirkwood Group who are the local distributors here in Alberta.

Posted in Cachaca, Cocktails & Recipes, Silver Cachaca Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Leblon Natural Cane Cachaca

Review: Pitú Cachaca

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 25, 2013

SAM_0885 Pitu Cacharita

Cachaca is a spirit similar to (but not quite the same as) rum. The roots of Cachaca predate the distillation of rum stretching back almost 500 years to the early sixteenth century when Portuguese colonists brought cuttings of sugar cane to Brazil. The spirit they created is distilled from the fermented juice of sugar cane. Its popularity in Brazil is enormous as Wikipedia quotes 2007 figures which state 1.5 billion liters of Cachaca are consumed annually in Brazil. The Brazilian consumption alone is high enough that if Cachaca were considered its own spirits category (as perhaps it should be), it would be the ninth largest spirits category in the world.

Pitú Cachaca (which according to the label on the back of my bottle is pronounced Petee-too Kah-sha-sah) is produced by Engarrafamento Pitu Ltda., an eight decade old family run company located within Pernambuco, in northeast Brazil. Their Cachaca is made from the juice of newly harvested sugar cane which is milled to extract the juice, then filtered and fermented before undergoing distillation with the final product rested in marrying tanks to soothe the flavour before bottling.

(I was provided with a sample bottle of the Pitú Cachaca by PMA Canada who are the local importers of the Spirit here in Alberta.)

You may read my full review of this uniquely Brazilian Spirit here:

Review: Pitú Cachaca

“… The initial entry is lightly spicy as I taste white pepper with citrus undertones. Very quickly the musty earthiness of the Pitú Cachaca kicks in as the vegetal flavours remind me of grilled pineapple, sautéed mushrooms and baked butternut squash which are all tainted with dabs of earthy lowland agave …”

I went a little crazy on the cocktails with this one (after all it is a cocktail spirit), and at the end of my review you can find a few cocktail recipes, one of my construction, the Amazing Tickle; and one from the producer website named the Cacharita.

Please enjoy the review and the amazing cocktails!

Posted in Cachaca, Cocktails & Recipes, Silver Cachaca Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Pitú Cachaca

 
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