{"id":889,"date":"2009-02-28T11:04:48","date_gmt":"2009-02-28T18:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/?p=889"},"modified":"2009-02-28T11:04:48","modified_gmt":"2009-02-28T18:04:48","slug":"cachaca-brazilian-rum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/?p=889","title":{"rendered":"Cacha\u00c3\u00a7a – Brazilian Rum?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’ll note that on every bottle of cacha\u00c3\u00a7a you buy in the US there is a sublabel listing it as Brazilian Rum.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not a coincidence or marketing gimmick.\u00c2\u00a0 Rather this is a requirement of the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau <\/a>(TTB).\u00c2\u00a0 The TTB in their own words defines a rum as:<\/p>\n

Spirits distilled from the fermented juice of sugar cane, sugar cane syrup, sugar cane molasses or other sugar cane by-products at less than 95% alcohol by volume (190 proof) having the taste, aroma and characteristics generally attributed to rum and bottled at not less than 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition the TTB requires that every bottle of alcohol sold in this country be labeled with, among other things, the class and type designation of the spirit.\u00c2\u00a0 Which means , to the dismay of the producers, that although cacha\u00c3\u00a7a is distinct from rum it must be labeled as such to be sold here.\u00c2\u00a0 So, now that you have some background on why it’s labeled as rum, let’s discuss why it’s not rum at all.<\/p>\n

Cacha\u00c3\u00a7a is a spirit produced from fermented sugar cane juice where as most rum is produced from fermented molasses instead.\u00c2\u00a0 Like rum the distillation process for cacha\u00c3\u00a7a varies from producer to producer, but there is another interesting wrinkle in the production process that sets cacha\u00c3\u00a7a apart.\u00c2\u00a0 Legally additional sugar can be added to the final spirit to alter the flavor profile.\u00c2\u00a0 Namely, up to six grams of sugar per liter can be added to the product without declaring on the label.\u00c2\u00a0 Camper English, in this interesting post<\/a> about cacha\u00c3\u00a7a, goes on to note that if the producer adds between six and fifteen grams of sugar per liter the cacha\u00c3\u00a7a is now referred to as sweet cacha\u00c3\u00a7a or cacha\u00c3\u00a7a adocada.\u00c2\u00a0 This is an interesting tidbit to be sure as it explains some of the differing flavor profiles we experienced in our tasting.<\/p>\n

There are lots of other interesting facts about cacha\u00c3\u00a7a.\u00c2\u00a0 For example Brazilians consume the equivalent of eight liters per person yearly and cacha\u00c3\u00a7a is the number three most distilled spirit in the world behind vodka and soju.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re interested in reading up on some more fact this page<\/a> on the American University web site has some good info and goes in to moderate detail about the history of the spirit as well.<\/p>\n

Before getting started this week I’d certainly heard of cacha\u00c3\u00a7a in the past and read some comments about it.\u00c2\u00a0 I even had a bottle in my collection, but always thought of it simply as another kind of rum.\u00c2\u00a0 So I went to work educating myself.\u00c2\u00a0 I did some reading about cacha\u00c3\u00a7a’s history, read up on fellow bloggers comments and took a look at the brands available.\u00c2\u00a0 Once I felt slightly more well informed I did what any good cocktail fan does, I invited some friends over for a cacha\u00c3\u00a7a tasting.<\/p>\n

Nearly everyone at the tasting had never had cacha\u00c3\u00a7a before so this was an educational and entertaining experience for us all.\u00c2\u00a0 Our process was dead simple.\u00c2\u00a0 I gave everyone a small bit of each cacha\u00c3\u00a7a one at a time and we sipped and commented.\u00c2\u00a0 I frantically wrote down the thoughts and present those results here for your enjoyment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Pitu<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Pitu<\/a><\/td>\nThe first thing you’ll note about Pitu is its warm, buttery fruit aroma.\u00c2\u00a0 Following that initial sniff you’ll start to pick up the vegetal notes that are common of both cacha\u00c3\u00a7a and rhum agricole.\u00c2\u00a0 The flavor echoes the vegetal characteristics and buttery notes from the aroma and adds a very subtle wood aged flavor.\u00c2\u00a0 Ted wasn’t fond of the wood flavors, but that’s not particularly suprising as he generally doesn’t like wood aged spirits at all.\u00c2\u00a0 The rest of us found it quite pleasant though.\u00c2\u00a0 In tasting this cacha\u00c3\u00a7a you’ll also note it’s drier than some of the others you’ll come across, about the level of a white rum.\u00c2\u00a0 Overall a good cacha\u00c3\u00a7a and very affordable.\u00c2\u00a0 If this is the only cacha\u00c3\u00a7a available in your area you won’t be disappointed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
Boca Loca<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Boca<\/a><\/td>\nBoca Loca was up next on the docket.\u00c2\u00a0 The first thing you’ll notice about the aroma of this cacha\u00c3\u00a7a is additional sweetness.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ll get some of the same buttery notes in the aroma but less of the vegetal qualities.\u00c2\u00a0 The flavor, not surprisingly, echoes both the aroma.\u00c2\u00a0 You get a subtle, pleasant sweetness that comes through as well as a nice butterscotch\/caramel flavor.\u00c2\u00a0 Overall this cacha\u00c3\u00a7a has a much more mild flavor and, as one of the tasters put it, “you can tell it’s going to be friendlier to you.”\u00c2\u00a0 Of the five cacha\u00c3\u00a7as we tasted this was our second favorite.\u00c2\u00a0 Because of the milder, less funky flavor this would be a great cacha\u00c3\u00a7a to introduce people to the spirit.\u00c2\u00a0 This brand is also very affordable and is certainly worth picking up if you’re looking to make some caipirinhas.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
Ypioca Crystal<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Ypioca<\/a><\/td>\nNext up was a bottle of Ypioca Crystal that my cousin brought back from a trip to Mexico.\u00c2\u00a0 Since this bottle was purchased at a duty free store you’ll note there is no “Brazilian Rum” category on the bottle.\u00c2\u00a0 Just an interesting tid bit.\u00c2\u00a0 This cacha\u00c3\u00a7a had a very unique fruit aroma, specifically that of a granny smith apple.\u00c2\u00a0 The fruitiness isn’t as aparent in the flavor, rather you get a bit of initial harshness that fades in the aftertaste.\u00c2\u00a0 Not an unpleasant cacha\u00c3\u00a7a, but also not our favorite of the evening.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
Cabana<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Cabana<\/a><\/td>\nCabana is a bit of the odd man out in this tasting for a couple of reasons.\u00c2\u00a0 First it bills itself as authentically Brasilian which has peeved some natives as, although the spirit is produced in Sao Paulo, the company is owned and managed from NYC by a former employee of JP Morgan.\u00c2\u00a0 Second, Cabana bills itself as an ultra premium cacha\u00c3\u00a7a and to that end employs a double distillation process.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ll immediately pick up the extra distillation in the aroma or lack there-of.\u00c2\u00a0 Colton, who had just arrived as we were pouring the Cabana, commented that it “smells like liquor.”\u00c2\u00a0 Which, although humorous on the surface, is actually quite true.\u00c2\u00a0 You pick up very faint grass notes in the aroma, but that’s about it.\u00c2\u00a0 The flavor is similar to that of a vodka.\u00c2\u00a0 Overall we didn’t much like this cacha\u00c3\u00a7a and at the high end of the cost scale (~$35) I would say it’s not worth it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
Leblon<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Leblon<\/a><\/td>\nLeblon was our final cacha\u00c3\u00a7a for the night and the crowd favorite.\u00c2\u00a0 In the aroma the buttery notes are more subdued and the grass is more forward with this one.\u00c2\u00a0 In addition you’ll pick up additional fruit smells peeking through.\u00c2\u00a0 Ted described the aroma as reminding him of corn candy which, if you’re not familiar with it, is sweet corn flavored hard candy you can find in asian markets.\u00c2\u00a0 There is a subtle golden hue to the spirit which likely comes as a result of the short aging in brandy barrels.\u00c2\u00a0 The flavor is more complex than the others hitting on the fruity and grassy notes picked up in the aroma.\u00c2\u00a0 Finally, you don’t get the same aftertaste that you do with the Pitu, Ypioca and Cabana.\u00c2\u00a0 In summary, this is my cacha\u00c3\u00a7a of choice for a caipirinha as it adds a great level of complexity.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a bit pricier than some of the others, but I think the additional cost is well worth it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

So, now you at least have enough information about cacha\u00c3\u00a7a to talk intelligently at a dinner party and I certainly hope our tasting has given you some guidance on what brands to keep an eye out for.\u00c2\u00a0 If, however, you’re a skimmer and would prefer not to read this whole post, let me give you the two second summary.\u00c2\u00a0 Cacha\u00c3\u00a7a although labeled rum in the US is most certainly a different beast.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re looking for your first bottle to add to your home bar try Boca Loca or Leblon.\u00c2\u00a0 Boca Loca is going to give you a more mellow, slightly sweeter flavor and the Leblon is going to be more complex and slightly more expensive.\u00c2\u00a0 You won’t be disappointed with either.<\/p>\n

So there you have it.\u00c2\u00a0 Go forth and imbibe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’ll note that on every bottle of cacha\u00c3\u00a7a you buy in the US there is a sublabel listing it as Brazilian Rum.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not a coincidence or marketing gimmick.\u00c2\u00a0 Rather this is a requirement of the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).\u00c2\u00a0 The TTB in their own words defines a rum as: Spirits […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,36,33],"tags":[80,207,206],"class_list":["post-889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-review","category-tasting","tag-cachaca","tag-review","tag-tasting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=889"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":896,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889\/revisions\/896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cocktailhacker.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}