Caipirinha

In honor of their winning the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, this week's entry is Brazil's national cocktail, the Caipirinha, (pronounced "kie-purr-REEN-yah,") made with a spirit called cachaça, (pronounced "kah-SHAH-sah,") which is distilled from sweet sugarcane juice, and is very similar to rum. This is Joe's favorite drink!

The Recipe:

Into a chilled 16 ounce, pint glass:

- Add one whole lime, quartered, and muddled with a teaspoon of simple syrup, (or a teaspoon of light brown sugar,)

- Add a generous 5 count of Cachaça, (a Brazilian sugarcane-based spirit,)

- Fill with crushed ice,

- Top with a spritz of soda,

- Garnish with a wedge of lime.

-Recipe by Joe the Bartender, Passage to India Restaurant, Salem, MA

Bartender's Notes:

As a mere lad, working the pubs of London, living on warm beer and cheese & onion crisps, Joe met a young barkeeper from Sao Paulo who introduced him to this drink, thusly changing his life forever, for the better.

With this posting, we hope to pass this life-changing moment on...

Saúde! -Chris