Say it with us now: Kai-Pee-Reen-Ya. This is the Brazilian national cocktail (which makes me wonder if there is a national cocktail of the United States?). The cocktail is made with cachaça, which is an alcohol that results from the fermentation of fresh sugarcane juice that is then distilled. My friend Emily’s husband Joe frequently travels to Brazil, and we schemed to create this in batch size for his 40th birthday bash. Three cheers for one of my first elementary school friends, Joe, and for this batch version of the Caipirinha!
Caipirinha
Serves 16 (in a 10-ounce rocks glass filled halfway with ice)
1 ½ cups sugar
3 limes, each cut into 8 wedges
1 ¼ cups lime juice
9 cups cachaça
4 ½ cups club soda
In a wide-mouthed pitcher (that can hold 4 cups of liquid or more), and with a wooden spoon, muddle 1 ½ cups sugar with all of the lime wedges until juicy (about one minute).
Add 1 ¼ cups lime juice and stir well.
Transfer this mixture to your gallon serving container, add 9 cups of cachaça (yep, 9 cups!), and stir more. You may have to stir longer than you think you should!
Right before guests arrive, add 4 ½ cups club soda and stir well again. Saude! (That’s cheers in Portuguese, guys.)
photo @ bridgingherstory
Purchase the Lark Cocktails book for dozens more great recipes! #livinglark
