cachaça

File:Cachaçaria no Mercado Central em Belo Horizonte.jpg

Sugar production was mostly switched from the Madeira islands to Brazil by the Portuguese in the 16th century. In Madeira, aguardente de cana is made by distilling fermented sugar cane juice into liquor, and the pot stills from Madeira were brought to Brazil to make what today is also called cachaça.

{{cite web |last=Cascon |first=Ana |title=Consulate General of Brazil - Cachaça |url=http://www.brazil.org.hk/ehtml/about_lon_cul_chacha.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130107172829/http://www.brazil.org.hk/ehtml/about_lon_cul_chacha.htm |archive-date=2013-01-07 |access-date=2012-12-16 |website=brazil.org.hk}}

The process dates from 1532, when one of the Portuguese colonists brought the first cuttings of sugar cane to Brazil from Madeira.{{cite web |title=Cachaca |url=http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/cachaca-feature-981.html |access-date=2012-12-16 |archive-date=23 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823111544/http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/cachaca-feature-981.html |url-status=dead }}

The name Cachaça is legally protected; it can only be produced in Brazil, where, according to 2007 figures, {{convert|1500000000|L|USgal impgal|sigfig=3}} are consumed annually, compared with {{convert|15000000|L|USgal impgal|sigfig=3}} outside the country.{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Kelly E. |date=2007-02-15 |title=Cachaça: It is the essence of Brazil in a bottle |url=http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-02-15-brazil-cachaca_x.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913132403/http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-02-15-brazil-cachaca_x.htm |archive-date=2007-09-13 |access-date=2007-02-16 |work=USA Today}} It is typically between 38% and 48% alcohol by volume.Cavalcante, Messias Soares. A verdadeira história da cachaça. São Paulo: Sá Editora, 2011. 608p. {{ISBN|978-85-88193-62-8}}{{Cite news |last=Silveira |first=Evanildo da |title=Cachaça: Uma bebida de respeito |trans-title=Cachaça: A drink of respect |url=http://www.unesp.br/aci/jornal/147/cachaca.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819220632/http://www.unesp.br/aci/jornal/147/cachaca.htm |archive-date=2008-08-19 |access-date=2013-12-31 |work=São Paulo State University |language=pt-BR}}{{Cite web|title=Cachaca : The Whisky Exchange|url=https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/c/368/cachaca|access-date=16 October 2020|website=thewhiskyexchange.com|language=en-GB}} When homemade, it can be as strong as the distiller wants. Up to six grams of sugar per liter may be added.{{cite web |title=Resposta técnica - cachaça |url=http://sbrt.ibict.br/upload/sbrt1887.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628064103/http://sbrt.ibict.br/upload/sbrt1887.pdf |archive-date=2007-06-28 |access-date=2007-02-18}}

Figures from 2003 indicate 1.3 billion liters of cachaça are produced each year; only 1% of this is exported (mainly to Germany).{{Cite news |title=Marvada chique |trans-title=Chic marvada |url=http://revistagloborural.globo.com/EditoraGlobo/componentes/article/edg_article_print/1%2C3916%2C533013-1641-1%2C00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302023552/http://revistagloborural.globo.com/EditoraGlobo/componentes/article/edg_article_print/1,3916,533013-1641-1,00.html |archive-date=2009-03-02 |access-date=2007-02-18 |work=Editora Globo |language=pt-BR}}

File:Cachaça barrels at Ypióca's museum 1.jpgs of cachaça]]

Cachaça, like rum, has two varieties: unaged ({{langx|pt|branca}}, "white" or prata, "silver") and aged (amarela, "yellow" or ouro, "gold").{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=Colleen |title=What Is Cachaça? |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-cachaca-760699 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721203536/https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-cachaca-760699 |archive-date=2019-07-21 |access-date=2020-10-16 |website=The Spruce Eats |language=en}} White cachaça is usually bottled immediately after distillation and tends to be cheaper. Some producers age it for up to 12 months in wooden barrels to achieve a smoother blend. It is often used as an ingredient in caipirinha and other mixed beverages. Dark cachaça, usually seen as the "premium" variety, is aged in wood barrels and is meant to be drunk neat. It is usually aged for up to 3 years, though some ultra-premium cachaças have been aged for up to 15 years. Its flavour is influenced by the type of wood the barrel is made from.{{Cite web |last=Tonon |first=Rafael |date=2015-12-11 |title=A Complete Guide to Cachaça: Brazil's Most Popular Spirit |url=https://www.eater.com/drinks/2015/12/11/9891376/what-is-cachaca |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151215044505/https://www.eater.com/drinks/2015/12/11/9891376/what-is-cachaca |archive-date=2015-12-15 |access-date=2020-11-16 |website=Eater |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Kugel |first=Seth |date=2008-04-09 |title=Allure of Cachaça Spreads to U.S. From Brazil |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/dining/09cachaca.html |access-date=2022-12-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

There are very important regions in Brazil where fine pot still cachaça is produced, such as Salinas in Minas Gerais state, Chã Grande in Pernambuco state, Paraty in Rio de Janeiro state, Monte Alegre do Sul in São Paulo, Luiz Alves in Santa Catarina state, and Abaíra in Bahia state. Nowadays, producers of cachaça can be found in most Brazilian regions, and in 2011, there were over 40,000 of them.

Cachaça is produced in copper stills. Levels of copper in homemade cachaças can exceed the legal limits established by Brazilian law. Some copper is considered desirable in the distillation process as a catalyst for the oxidation of sulfur compounds produced by fermentation, but the levels must be controlled by adequate maintenance and cleaning of the still to remove accumulated verdigris. Adsorbents are used, but the most commonly used adsorbents, activated carbon and ion-exchange resin, have been shown to alter the chemical composition of cachaça. Sugarcane bagasse has been proposed as a selective adsorbent.{{cite journal |title=Sugarcane bagasse performance in copper adsorption of pot still cachaça |journal=Cientifica (Jaboticabal) |year=2016 |doi=10.15361/1984-5529.2016v44n2p138-145|doi-access=free |last1=Machado |first1=Ana Maria De Resende |last2=Cardoso |first2=Maria das Graças |last3=Duarte |first3=Felipe Cimino |last4=Anjos |first4=Jeancarlo Pereira |last5=Zacaroni |first5=Lidiany Mendonça |last6=Santiago |first6=Wilder Douglas |volume=44 |issue=2 |page=138 }}

For more than four centuries of history, cachaça has accumulated synonyms and creative nicknames coined by the Brazilian people. Some of these words were created for the purpose of deceiving the supervision of the metropolis in the days when cachaça was banned in Brazil; the beverage was competing with the European distillate grappa. There are more than two thousand words to refer to the Brazilian national distillate. Some of these nicknames are: abre-coração (heart-opener), água-benta (holy water), bafo-de-tigre (tiger breath), and limpa-olho (eye-wash).{{cite web |date=2012-03-28 |title=Cachaça Nicknames |url=http://almanacofyum.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/cachaca-nicknames/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102161608/http://almanacofyum.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/cachaca-nicknames/ |archive-date=2014-01-02 |access-date=2013-12-31 |website=almanacofyum.wordpress.com |publisher= |language=en}}

In the beginning of the 17th century, the producers of sugar from various European colonies in the Americas used the by-products of sugar, molasses, and scummings as the raw material for the production of alcoholic spirits. The resulting beverage was known by several names: in British colonies, it was named rum; in France, tafia; in Spain, aguardiente de caña; and in Portugal (Brazil), aguardente da terra, aguardente de cana and later cachaça (locals also call it "Pinga",{{cite web |date=2008-03-10 |title=Pinga |url=https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/pinga.865115/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410212653/https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/pinga.865115/ |archive-date=2021-04-10 |website=WordReference.com}} which translates to drip).

The major difference between cachaça and rum{{Cite web |date=13 October 2016 |title=Differences between Rum and Cachaça |url=https://www.cachacabartolomeu.com/single-post/2016/11/13/Differences-between-Rum-and-Cachaca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019003628/https://www.cachacabartolomeu.com/single-post/2016/11/13/Differences-between-Rum-and-Cachaca |archive-date=2020-10-19 |access-date=2020-05-06 |website=cachacabartolomeu.com}} is that rum is usually made from molasses, a by-product after a refinery boils the cane juice to extract as much sugar crystal as possible, while cachaça is made from fresh sugarcane juice, fermented and distilled.{{cite web|url=http://www.cocktailtimes.com/dictionary/cachacas.shtml |title=> Dictionary |work=Cocktail Times |access-date=31 December 2013}} Some rums, in particular, the rhum agricole of the French Caribbean, are also made by the latter process. Cachaça is also known as Brazilian rum.

In the United States, cachaça is recognized as a type of rum and distinctive Brazilian product, after an agreement was signed in 2013{{Cite web |last=Pekic |first=Vladimir |date=2015-06-22 |title=Rum deal: Brazil fights for global recognition of its sugar cane spirit cachaça |url=https://www.beveragedaily.com/Article/2015/06/23/Brazil-and-Mexico-protect-cachaca-and-tequila |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020073728/https://www.beveragedaily.com/Article/2015/06/23/Brazil-and-Mexico-protect-cachaca-and-tequila |archive-date=2021-10-20 |access-date=2020-05-06 |website=beveragedaily.com |language=en-GB}} with Brazil in which it will drop the usage of the term "Brazilian rum".{{Cite news |last=Colitt |first=Raymond |date=2012-04-09 |title=Brazil, U.S. Move to Boost Cachaca, Tennessee Whiskey Trade |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-04-09/brazil-u-s-move-to-boost-cachaca-tennessee-whiskey-trade-1- |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016023452/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-04-09/brazil-u-s-move-to-boost-cachaca-tennessee-whiskey-trade-1- |archive-date=2015-10-16 |access-date=2013-12-31 |work=Bloomberg L.P.}}{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-02-25/pdf/2013-04242.pdf |title=TTB Amends the Distilled Spirits Identity Regulations to Recognize "Cachaça" as a Type of Rum and Distinctive Product of Brazil |publisher=gpo.gov |date=25 February 2013 |access-date=10 August 2014}}

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• Guaro
• Cocktails with cachaça
• List of cachaça brands
• List of Brazilian drinks

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Cachaças}}

• [https://www.cachacahub.com/ Cachaça HUB - Initiative in Europe about cachaça]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180129195739/http://www.aboutspirits.com/the-cachaca/ Know more ABOUT cachaça]
• [http://www.cnn.folderpark.net/ O Álbum Virtual de Rótulos de Garrafas de Cachaça na Net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410222307/http://www.cnn.folderpark.net/ |date=10 April 2019 }}—Web site dedicated to cachaça labels. In English and Portuguese.

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Category:Culture of Brazil

Category:Brazilian distilled drinks

Category:Culture in Minas Gerais

Category:Sugar industry of Brazil

Category:Sugar-based alcoholic drinks