I’ve heard cachaca pronounced a lot of ways since I’ve been behind the stick. Honestly, I don’t care how many syllables you leave out or add, just as long as you grab a bottle and start mixing it up with this great spirit! There’s no time like present- with Brazilian Independence Day right around the corner (Sept. 7th) the Caipirinhas should be flowing and those muddlers aught to be working overtime.
Tim and I took the initiative on this one with our friends at Cabana Cachaca. We’ve been hard at work (stop laughing) this past week with a couple prequel events. These will culminate on Tuesday with a ticketed event to be held at the Drawing Room featuring the culinary stylings of Chef Lacasse, drinks by the Angel’s Share gang and a highly anticipated performance by the local Brazilian ju-jitsu/dance team, Capoeira Gingarte.
We started things on Wednesday with mixological jam session hosted by Angel’s Share and Cabana at Salud Tequila Lounge. While agave is usually the star of the show at this venue, some double distilled sugar cane took center stage for the afternoon. The idea is to get a bunch of spirit geeks together, talk booze, trends and cocktails and mix it up for a few hours. We laid out a spread of every fruit, vegetable, herb and spirit we could fit in the Jeep and let the bartenders follow their inspiration. 
These types of exercises are particularly useful in honing your craft. You are not only challenged to work outside of your comfort zone with no expectation of what will be available, but there are also no rules. This will inevitably result in some flavor combos that don’t quite hit the mark and some unexpected surprises that may have never ended up in the same mixing glass otherwise. Most importantly, it’s fun- you get to spend an afternoon with a crew that shares your passion and bounce ideas off one another. Did I mention I love this job? 
After a couple hours of talking cachaca and mixing it up we put our collective palates together to choose the drink that stood out among the crowd. It was Jeff Donahue, of Province, that created a blend of Cabana, Noilly Pratt Sweet, Domaine de Canton & Fernet Branca that fell into place. There were several great drinks prepared, but this one shone through with subtle layers and balance. We’re looking forward to sharing it with our guests at the upcoming Brazilian dinner on the 8th!
