Tag: Cachaca

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Chance Encounter at Dr. Funk

This was the one drink on Dr. Funk‘s special February cocktail menu that I didn’t try, so decided to give it a spin in between rum tastings.

Chance Encounter includes strawberry-infused cachaça, Chinese grain spirit, vermouth, a sparkling apéritif, and lemon juice. Thanks to the bubbles this does drink a little lighter in body, with that vermouth and infused cachaça providing some atypical flavors for San Jose’s best tiki bar.

I thought it was pretty good, meaning that this themed menu is among the best that Dr. Funk has done over the past 18 months. You can catch Fortune X Romance at Dr. Funk now through February 22.

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2044 Mai Tai: Funky Rum Riff with Yellow Chartreuse

This interesting Mai Tai riff made the rounds on a couple private Discords I’m on, and I’m thankful since it had evaded my radar up to now. The 2044 Mai Tai comes from Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago via an article in Fatherly.

The recipe features two notable changes from the classic Mai Tai. The half ounce of orange curaçao liqueur is replaced by the sweet herbal Yellow Chartreuse in a subtle change that is sort of buried in the blend due to the firebomb of a rum blend made with funky high proof rums.

The rum blend is specified as being equal parts of Wray & Nephew Overproof rum from Jamaica, Rhum JM Blanc from Martinique, and Avua cask strength cachaça from Brazil. These flavor bombs that lean on sugar cane juice distillate really come forward in the cocktail and impact a very different character than traditional long-aged molasses rums that the Mai Tai is most associated with.

2044 Mai Tai, Three Dots and a Dash, Chicago
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Orgeat
½ oz Yellow Chartreuse
2 oz Rum Blend
Shake with crushed ice.

2044 Mai Tai Rum Blend
1 part Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum
1 part Rhum JM Blanc 55 Rhum Agricole
1 part Avua Cask Strength Cachaça

The JM I have at home is 50% ABV, so close enough in my estimation. I substituted Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin for the Avua since it is a higher ABV than any of the cachaças I had in stock, and feel vindicated seeing a Reddit post that shows Garret Richard doing the same thing at Sunken Harbor Club. The clairin is perhaps a bit too forward in this particular blend; I would suggest pulling it back a little or substituting Rum Fire for the Wray & Nephew.

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Petion with Haitian Rum

This cocktail popped up in Beachbum Berry’s Total Tiki app and it was perfect to try since lime was the only juice I had on hand. This dates to the post World War 2 era and was served at the Tourist Bar in Port-au-Prince, Haiti – so naturally it uses Haitian spirits. Supposedly named after Haitian revolutionary General Alexandre Pétion who chose the title “President for Life” rather than “Emperor for Life.” What a true patriot.

Petion
¾ oz Lime juice
½ oz Sugar syrup
¾ oz Bénédictine
¾ oz Clairin from Haiti (alt: Cachaça)
¾ oz Barbancourt 8 Year
Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

I loved this with Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin, but for the rest of my family I knew it would be a bit too much and subbed Cachaça as the Bum suggests. Quite a nice light style cocktail.

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Blue Mai Tai for July 4th

There were a couple parties last night that I could have attended but wasn’t feeling great. All the fireworks going off in our neighborhood were disturbing, including some that went off right over our house thanks to neighbors. I really hate the 4th of July.

The Mai Tai was the consolation prize.

Blue Mai Tai
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
¼ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Giffard Blue Curacao
½ oz Rum Fire Overproof Jamaica Rum
1 oz Leblon Cachaça
Shake with crushed ice and garnish with mint.

Normally I make this with the overproof as the featured spirit, but wanted to see if the more savory Cachaça flavors would come through in this format and they surely did. Still very flavorful and leaning sweet (omit the Simple to reduce sweetness).

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Drunken Monkey at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

This cocktail appeared on the menu at Trader Vic’s Emeryville a couple years ago and I decided to revisit with lunch. The drink features unaged Cachaça and Tequila, along with Banana liqueur, grapefruit and lime juice, plus Trader Vic’s favorite ingredient – Orgeat. The Whipped Cream topping with Lime Zest makes this an attractive cocktail.

The blend of Cachaça and Tequila works really well here, providing different spirit notes than what you’d get with Rum or Bourbon. Cachaça is distilled from cane juice and the light herbal qualities pair well with Tequila’s agave-based flavor. The banana is there just as a hint, and when we upped the ratio at home it still wasn’t forward in the cocktail.

At Trader Vic’s the cocktail is served in this tall glass with nugget ice, which meant it was difficult to incorporate the topping into the drink due to the chunky ice. My preference would be for this to be in an old fashioned glass with a wider brim or with shaved ice that would be easier to work with.

Trader Vic’s hasn’t published the recipe but observing the prep and trying at home this seems pretty close. Give it a try!

Drunken Monkey by Trader Vic’s
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Grapefruit Juice (pink)
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
1 oz Blanco Tequila
1 oz Silver Cachaça
Shake with crushed ice and top with whipped cream and banana chips.

At home I used El Jimador Tequila and Novo Fogo Cachaça, along with Latitude 29 Orgeat, and I felt this tasted even better than the one at Trader Vic’s. I’m a newbie to both spirits, so I couldn’t tell which brands were used at Vic’s.

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Caipirinha

I finally got around to purchasing a bottle of Cachaça, the cane spirit from Brazil. I’ve had good experiences with Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça and the price was reasonable so that’s what I went with. Not grassy at all, the savory flavors of this cane spirit are quite pleasant.

I decided to make a Caipirinha, the national drink of Brazil. This cocktail is similar to a Daiquiri or Ti Punch in that it contains a cane spirit, lime, and sugar.

Caipirinha
2 sugar cubes
1 Small Lime, cut into quarters
2 oz Cachaça
Place lime wedges and sugar into old fashioned glass and muddle gently. Add Cachaça and crushed ice, then stir until chilled and the sugar is dissolved.

This is quite nice and more to my taste than the formula for a Ti Punch that has a smaller ratio of lime/sugar (if you prefer Martinique Rhum, your opinion may differ). I can see why the Caipirinha is popular.