Lime, sugar and alcohol! Easy and delicious. The Caipirinha (pronounced kai-pee-reen-ya) is the national drink of Brazil. Since our mystery in a box game, The Memory Stone, takes you to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, we figured this would be the perfect drink to enhance your game!
The Legend of the Caipirinha
A mixture of lemon, garlic and honey was used as a remedy for the Spanish flu outbreak in the early 1900s. Some added alcohol to it to expedite the effects of the “medicine.” Eventually, the garlic was tossed out and sugar was substituted for honey and they had a tasty drink!
Caipirinha Recipe
2 oz (60ml) Cachaça (read below for a vodka substitution recipe if you don’t have this)
1/2 lime cut into quarters
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 heaped tsp brown sugar (you can use white sugar but it will be sweeter)
Ice
Directions
Muddle the sugar and lime together. (if you don’t have a muddler, you can use the back of a spoon or ice cream scoop.)
Add the lime juice and Cachaça. Stir together and make sure the brown sugar is dissolved.
Pour in a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a lime wheel or wedge.
Caipiroska Recipe (vodka based)
We live in Hawaii and could not find Cachaca anywhere! If you don’t have this liquor, fear not, just use vodka instead – it’s delicious – if not authentic.
Non-Alcoholic Version
Take out the alcohol and you have a very zingy limeade. It’s delicious and refreshing!
What is Cachaça – Is it like Rum?
Well…it’s made from cane, but it’s different from rum in the part of cane used. Most rum is made from molasses (which is what’s left over after sugar is made.) Cachaca is made from fermented sugar cane juice, giving it a more floral, herbaceous flavor.
That’s it! Nice and easy and delicious. We hope you’ve enjoyed learning how to make the Brazilian national drink and that you find it as zingy and tasty as we did! Enjoy playing the Memory Stone game while sipping on your drink.
