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The first time I tasted a bottle of Leblon Cachaça, I was impressed: satiny with a sweet hint of vanilla and an easy finish. It’s aged briefly in XO Cognac casks, making it smooth and rich … and, at around $30, more expensive than other brands.
Does the better spirit make the better cocktail? I tested Leblon against a few cheaper cachaças with the help of a Brazilian friend. We tried them straight as well as with the muddled lime and sugar required for a Caipirinha. That’s how most cachaça is consumed in the United States, though in its native Brazil it’s often sipped straight. Leblon was a delicious sipping cachaça. But it made my least favorite Caipirinha.
Call it the lime (or lemon) and sugar test. Every place in the Western Hemisphere where alcohol is distilled and limes are grown also has an iconic cocktail made with the two: the Margarita, the Caipirinha, the Daiquiri, the Pisco Sour (the latter usually made with lemons). And the test works: I’ve tried each one of these lime-and-sugar concoctions with different brands of the base liquors, and the less expensive, less refined spirits always make better drinks. With sugar and lime, the more expensive liquors consistently result in cocktails that are too smooth, too rich, too round, and not that interesting. But the cheaper spirits make cocktails with dynamic and attention-getting textures—a little unpolished, but appealingly so.
In spirits, there’s lots of pressure to spend more money. And, for the most part, consumers are buying into it, not only with cachaça but other spirits, too. A 2006 report by a Pace University professor called “The Surging Global Tequila Market” states that the U.S. super- and ultrapremium tequila market is expanding rapidly and is linked to “trends to connoisseurship in a growing gourmet culture.” I’d like to see the word connoisseurship used less as a euphemism for willing to pay more and more as a function of consumers truly getting to know their product.
So when it comes to cachaça for a Caipirinha I like it clear (no wood aging) and a little coarse. Beleza Pura, Sagatiba, and Cachaça 51 are all good bets. And when I want a sipping cachaça, I can turn to Leblon.
Cachaca 61 is also good for making a Caipirinha or a "Rabo de Galo" (literally a "Cock's tail", which the the company sells bottled)
Rabo de Galo (common recipe):
2/3 of cachaça
1/3 of vermouth (Red)
http://www.cachaca61.com.br/defaultn.htm
Some more Cachaca fun!:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batida#Batida
And now on to Bourbon -
If you like Evan Williams you'll love Mitchner's. For a huge treat try the Hirsch 20.
Be warned: good bourbon is like flying first class. Once you start it's tough to stop.
In Defense of Better Liquor
While there are liquors out that that just cost more because they do, most liquors cost more because they are more expensive to produce. Where does that cost often come from? The distillation process itself.
When you distill a product it's impurities tend to gather at the beginning of the process and and then end. In distillers parlance these are called the...+READ
In Defense of Better Liquor
While there are liquors out that that just cost more because they do, most liquors cost more because they are more expensive to produce. Where does that cost often come from? The distillation process itself.
When you distill a product it's impurities tend to gather at the beginning of the process and and then end. In distillers parlance these are called the "heads" and "tails". The distillers of spirits that cost more often "cut off" or do not include the heads and the tails of the process in the bottled outcome. The more often a distiller runs his product, called the distilate, through his process and then removes the "heads" and "tails", the fewer impurities will end up in the final bottled product. These impurities that can add a dimension of mouth feel and "attention getting textures" to a final product. They can also lead to wicked headaches, that awful hung over feeling amd the various "metalic tastes" discribed above. All of these reactions are your body's attempt to reject, clean up or warn you about impurities that your body has to work very hard to get rid of.
Don't get me wrong, I have a various levels of eash spirit that I enjoy. When I am in country I almost always drink the cheap stuff because it's what is popular widely available. But I limit myself because the spirits are inexpensive for a reason.
Uust know what you are getting into and why. That is the best definition of a chow hound that I know.-COLLAPSE
The reason I don't drink, and it all sounds like heaven. I went to a cocktail party once when I came of age. My hostess, taking ad-
vantage of my naivete made several cocktails for me I had never had, each better than the last until I fell down and then fell out of my friends car and broke my face. Three weeks and $20.000.00 later, In those days one didn't sue one's hostess, we called her Dirty...+READ
The reason I don't drink, and it all sounds like heaven. I went to a cocktail party once when I came of age. My hostess, taking ad-
vantage of my naivete made several cocktails for me I had never had, each better than the last until I fell down and then fell out of my friends car and broke my face. Three weeks and $20.000.00 later, In those days one didn't sue one's hostess, we called her Dirty Lou. She was a double agent for the CIA, we found out after she died of alcholism.-COLLAPSE
I can't speak to the specifics ofLeblon, but i do agree that one can OFTEN use less expensive distillates in a cocktail -- especially one that contains a fair amount of sweetness -- and get better tasting results than with the "high-priced spread."
I agree with angusb about Evan Williams. My friend's father made us all exquisite Manhattans using Evan Williams. I was impressed.
White port and lime for me, thanks.
Same with rum and mojitos - an inexpensive white rum makes the best drink, Brugal White Label is my fave. I think Bacardi makes horrible mojitos, it gives a yucky overpowering metallic taste to the drink.
While I agree with you generally, I would have to disagree with a few things specifically. I think Leblon makes a great caipirinha. I also like Pitu. Cachaça 51, however, is a little bit rough and raw for my tastes. I drink caipirinhas all summer long, and I discovered that I prefer them with a mix of key limes (or Mexican limes) and Persian limes.
As for other liquors, I tend to drink bourbon,...+READ
While I agree with you generally, I would have to disagree with a few things specifically. I think Leblon makes a great caipirinha. I also like Pitu. Cachaça 51, however, is a little bit rough and raw for my tastes. I drink caipirinhas all summer long, and I discovered that I prefer them with a mix of key limes (or Mexican limes) and Persian limes.
As for other liquors, I tend to drink bourbon, and I would take Jim Beam or Evan Williams over most expensive bourbons any day--especially in mixed drinks.-COLLAPSE