99% of the world’s 3rd most popular spirit NEVER leaves its origin country.
Cachaça, that’s correct, is the 3rd most popular spirit in the world; with domestic consumption in my native Brazil, TWICE the amount of all gin consumed globally. And yet, I’d say close to 90% of people never even heard of it. And sadly, the 10% that does know what cachaça is, only think of it for one famous drink: Caipirinha.
More bars in the US are starting to stock a bottle or two of cachaça, usually big brand names – and to me there’s nothing wrong with that! Let’s make people more familiar with the spirit. Nevertheless, for this review I wanted to speak to people who enjoy carefully crafted spirits, and are always on the lookout for a new brand to enjoy.
To those who know cachaça, I’m sure the brands Leblon, 51, or Pitú come to mind. Set those aside and let me introduce you to Novo Fogo.
Minimally processed, small batch, and organic. Since the day I found this at my local beverage store, I’ve been digging deep in their history and oh it’s a good one. The cachaça industry is, sadly, part of the deforestation problem. Novo Fogo got out in front of the issue and created the Un-Endangered Project, so no (or less) guilt goes in your glass.
While learning about the brand, this came as surprise for me: they categorize their offerings as silver, amber and brown. I was not much of a drinker while I lived in Brazil, so to me every cachaça was crystal clear, upon seeing their other products, for a second a thought I was a fake Brazilian for not knowing this detail about the spirit that represents my Motherland. So you can enjoy cachaça the same way you can enjoy your tequila; with different hues and aging.
Now, to my bourbon lovers out there, the barrels used for aging are repurposed American oak, once used for Four Roses and Heaven Hill. Yes I’m tugging on those bourbon-loving heartstrings with this fun factoid, just another excuse for you to try cachaça 🥃😃
Ok. Deep breath – that was a lot of info.
I was definitely surprised to learn how popular and diverse Brazil’s native spirit indeed is.
So please – go try some CACHAÇA! Enjoy it neat, with a splash of whatever, or even just ice cold on the rocks while you soak up some sun.
I have a super simple recipe for a perfect cachaça cocktail (just 3 ingredients) forthcoming so… Stay tuned! And thank you for visiting me and reading all this 👋 CHEERS!!