Cachaça is alcohol made with sugar cane, which is created by distilling the fermented juice from the cane. It's widely used in creating the caipirinha, a cocktail which mixes it with ice, sugar and lemon, and which is popular internationally. It has an alcohol content of between 38% and 50%.
In Brazil, cachaça also has many other names: caxaca, caxa or chacha, and pinga. It was Christopher Columbus who brought the first sugar cane stalks from the Canaries to be planted in the Caribbean, from where they moved quickly to colonial Brazil. The cane process produced an initial thick foam of little quality, which went to feeding animals. The slaves liked that foam, which they consumed from the pot, and soon it was used for commercial consumption. This drink was attributed with aphrodisiac powers; in time, cachaça, together with the perfection of its production, attracted other consumers and began to hold importance as a consumption product in colonial Brazil.
But there is a legend about the origin of cachaça which is much more fun: one especially sunny day, God decided to take a walk, and he had a rest, sat in the sun of a cane field, where he quenched his thirst with a sugar cane and found it so delicious that he blessed it, so that it could provide food for mankind. And with that sugar was born.
That same day, the Devil also sat in the cane field and sucked on a cane. As he consumed it with his very hot hands, the liquid he drank heated up and burned his throat and so he cursed it, so that it would produce a drink that burns as much as the fire of hell. And with that cachaça was born.
Cachaça forms part of almost all the offerings given to the different gods and spiritual entities. Today, before taking a sip of cachaça, it is frequent to see even the most educated of Brazilians pouring a little onto the floor “para o santo” (for the holy one), which is the tribute that Africans pay to their ancestors.
To prepare a good gulp of cachaça you need:
· A lemon with thin peel
· Two dessert spoons of sugar
· 60 ml of pineapple skin
· Crushed ice
Cut the lemon into fine slices, taking off the ends which only have peel on. Place the lemon and the sugar in a bowl. Firmly mix the lemon and sugar in the bowl. Then add the pineapple and crushed ice. And it’s ready!
If you visit Brazil, drink cachaça (in moderation) and you will see how much you enjoy it!
Tip: If you are in Salvador da Bahia, do not miss a visit to O Cravinho bar-restaurant. It is the most popular place in the Terreiro de Jesus, in the heart of Pelourinho. It was opened at the beginning of the 80s with the aim of selling typical drinks that were consumed by ancestors in past generations, all of them with cachaça as the main ingredient. The most famous is the so-called “cravinho“: cloves, cachaça and lemon. Try it and let us know what you think! 
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