Be Better Guys

Cachaça has become the new liquor of the moment. Brazil has greatly increased exports in the past several years, providing the imbibing class a viable alternative to tequila or rum, depending on your tastes. BBG has been fans of cachaça for a few years now. Like rum, cachaça is made from sugar cane juice, but the taste is earthier, more herbaceous, with hints of cinnamon or other spice. A movement toward aged cachaça, with some brands aging the liquor in wooden casks, puts it into a position as a substitute for dark rum or even whiskeys.

So when BBG was asked to do a blind taste test on two different cachaças, we naturally obliged. The test was done in three parts: first, the nose; then, a tasting of the liquor neat; and finally, mixed in a caipirinha (cachaça, lime, and sugar over ice). The cachaças came in clear medicine bottles marked “A” and “B” with instructions to taste Bottle B first. I conducted the tasting over the phone with a disembodied female voice; very sweet, very reassuring, let’s call her Charlie.

I asked Charlie about the preparations of two cachaças, trying to figure out what I was working with. I’ve had cachaça before, so I was struck by the heavy, sulfur smell of Bottle A. Charlie indicated that Bottle A, the amber one, might be aged in oak. But it was more than that. The taste was . . .funky like molasses, not at all what I was expecting. It didn’t dance on the tongue, but was heavy with smoke.

Bottle B was more of what I expected from cachaça. The nose gave me some sweetness, like sugar cane, with a sting of alcohol, even some mint. The taste was lightly herbaceous, slight hints of spice, like cinnamon on the finish. There was a whisper of alcohol on the tongue along with the sugar from the cane toward the end. Again, pretty much what I expected.

Then, I made caipirinhas. Bottle B gave me a crisp, sweet and sour drink that was begging for a warm, sunny day to enjoy. The heat gave the drink’s finish a nice effervescence. The heaviness of Bottle A just overpowered the rest of the ingredients.

Overall, I preferred the liquor in Bottle B, which turns out to be Cabana, a relatively new cachaça to the States. Cabana is twice distilled to give it a smoother taste. The competition was Leblon, an ultra-premium cachaça that has a bit of buzz. It’s aged in used Cognac casks, hence the color. Not too refined, it’s intended to be mixed.

Post-script: After the tasting was done and Charlie let me know which was which, something interesting happened. I tried Leblon, the cachaça  in Bottle A, on the rocks and within a few minutes, it opened up to a totally different experience. The funk became caramel and while it never gave me that hint of heat, it became a decent sipping drink. That means I’ll have to try it again.