Sunshine on a Rainy Day: Making the Perfect Caipirinha

I learned to make green curry in Thailand and how to make macarons in Paris so naturally, when I wanted to learn how to make an authentic Brazilian caipirinha, I went to…Kingston-upon-Thames.

I’ve been lucky enough to spend a bit of time in Brazil, so I’m  familiar – a little too familiar, perhaps?- with their national drink.   The caipirinha is a potent little concoction made from sugar and limes heavily laced with cachaça (a rum-like spirit) and in Brazil, they are served EVERYWHERE. In the glammest hotel lounges in São Paulo, the sweatiest baile funk parties in Rio, the quaintest neighbourhood bars in Salvador.

At sundown on the beaches of the North East, local entrepreneurs man mobile stalls heaped with limes, ripe mango, passion fruit and bottles upon bottles of spirits, competing for custom in a giant outdoor bar that any hipster pop-up collective would be proud of. Go traditional lime, or mix it up with a “caipifruta” made with the fruit of your choice. Stay loyal to one stall – Ana on the beach at Jericoacoara was the absolute “Caipi Queen” in my eyes – or be totally promiscuous and sample a little something from everybody. However you do it, you know its going to be one hell of a party.

Much as I’m a fan of drinking caipirinhas, I have never actually learned how to make them. No time like the present…

It’s allegedly the first day of Spring, but just outside London, monsoon season is in full effect. When I reach the Kingston branch of Las Iguanas, however, the vibe is a little more Brazilian boteco than your normal high-street restaurant and bar. The look is painted wood with dynamic pops of blue, red and yellow, the soundtrack has a banging Latin flavour. Is that sunshine I feel? I might even take my coat off.

Barman Craig, our instructor for the afternoon kicks our  lesson off by pouring us each a hefty shot of cachaça- just for context, of course. Las Iguanas use their own brand distilled from sugar cane harvested from their own plantation in Brazil. Like a good student, I took the time to sip slowly, carefully appreciating the different flavour notes…or maybe I just shot it. Its got a little bit of burn – it causes you to suck the air through your teeth – but its less harsh-tasting than expected.

Where rum is made from molasses, cachaça is a little less refined, produced from the raw sugar cane itself. It has its origins deep within the horror of the slave trade, where African captives toiling in the cane mills would drink the fermented foam that formed on the top of the cauldrons of boiling sugar to dull their pain. Historically the drink of the lower classes, it is today a favourite of all Brazilians who knock back an intoxicating 1.5 billion litres of the stuff each year (2007 figures – after the Germany game last World Cup they probably doubled that in one night).

History lesson over, Craig skillfully whips up a sample glass to show us how its done, before calling on volunteers to follow his lead. Me please! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Las Iguanas Caipirinha:

First, drop about 8 chunks of lime (approximately 1/2 lime cut into eighths) into a Rocks/’Old Fashioned’ tumbler.

Add 3 level teaspoons of sugar (we used caster, but I’ve seen raw cane used elsewhere).

Using a muddler (or pestle, or wooden spoon handle – whatever you have at home. Just be careful of the glass!), give the limes and sugar a good old bash. You are not just trying to juice the limes, you also need to aggravate their skins to release the oils that bring the depth of flavour.

Add a good scoop of crushed ice (unlike me, try to keep it in the glass) and pour over 35ml of cachaça. Muddle for a minute or so to ensure the ingredients are mixed and the sugar dissolved.

Crown with more crushed ice, add a serving stick (I also decorated with another chunk of lime because I’m so fancy) and ta-dah!

The verdict?

I had to taste both mine and Craig’s (just checking my work…). Mine was a little sweeter as I was a touch heavy-handed with the sugar spoon (read level not heaped), but you still got that contrast with the sharpness of the lime and the punch of the cachaça. Its all about the balance, people, so adjust as necessary.

I don’t mean to big myself up (I will anyway), but mine was pretty tasty, even more so when it was accompanying the yummy Latin-American ‘inspired’ snacks provided by the Las Iguanas kitchen: fully loaded nachos, crisp-battered fish tacos, cheesy quesadillas stuffed with spicy chicken and peppers and a bowlful of classic champiñones –  mushrooms in a creamy chilli sauce that had a proper kick to it. The sauce was soooooo good that, by the end, I was eating it straight from the dish with a spoon – sod the mushrooms. In fact, if I’d had any less behaviour, I would have picked up the dish and stuck my face in.

We ended as we began with a shot, this time of the house two year-old  premium golden cachaça. Designed for sipping (as if I can be told…), it has a smoother taste, a little oakey like the barrels it is aged in. It was perfectly drinkable, but my preference would be the cocktail. I’m not much of a connoisseur of any neat spirit.

As I stepped out of the door to leave, the heavens duly opened and it resumed absolutely chucking it down.

Yep. I’m, back in the UK.

Thanks to Craig and the crew at Las Iguanas, Kingston and the team at Kingston First for their hospitality. My hangover should be on your conscience.