by Frederick Fuller

Created on: October 22, 2007   Last Updated: August 05, 2010

Caipisake and sakerinha are two different cocktails based on the same recipe. The International Bartender Association has declared caipisake, or caipirinha, to be an official cocktail. Made with cachaca, the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil, it is considered the national drink of Brazil.

Sakerinha is the variation of caipisake using sake instead of cachaca. Both recipes call for a quarter of a lime, cane sugar and ice. The lime is muddled with the sugar, ice is added and the liquor is poured over and stirred gently.

Cachaca is distilled from fermented cane juice with an alcohol content between 76 and 96 proof. The average Brazilian consumes about three gallons of it a year. Produced exclusively in Brazil, at about 1.3 billion liters annually, cachaca is exported mainly to Germany. Considered by some to be a form of rum, cachaca is light in color and made from cane juice while rum is made usually from molasses.

Sake is an alcoholic beverage brewed from rice and is commonly associated with Japan. Referred to as rice wine, a misnomer, sake is technically a beer except it is rice flavored instead of malt flavored. Ironically, sake is not the most popular drink in Japan and has not been since the end of World War II. Now more beer is consumed in Japan than sake, and wine and spirits are increasingly popular. Since 1988 the number of sake breweries in Japan has gone from 2500 to 1500 today. But, the quality of sake has improved greatly, and it is enjoyed worldwide.

Caipisake Recipe Sakerinha Recipe

2 measures of cachaca 2 measures sake
1 quartered lime 1 quartered lime
2 tsp. cane sugar 2 tsp. cane sugar
crushed ice crushed ice

For both drinks muddle sugar with lime in the bottom of an old fashioned glass. Add ice and liquor. Stir and serve.

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