Blackberry Caipirinha
I was cooking at my husband's family's summer house, where the kitchen has lots old Le Creuset but not a cocktail shaker (unheard of in a WASP household, but ...). Turns out a glass Ball...
To the "shaker," I added sugar and then 7 plump blackberries from a local farmstand.
Next, a few lime wedges.
Let the muddling begin!
To the blackberry-lime mash, I added some ice cubes -- you can barely see it here, but they were steaming in the glass.
In went 2 ounces of cachaca.
Then I shook, shook, shook. The photo looks like a shampoo commercial; unintentional.
You can balance the lime on the rim, but I liked it bobbing around with the ice cubes.
Author Notes: The blackberries make it autumnal, but feel free to go with any berry you run into at the market. Keep in mind, this is a drink that requires a good, fierce muddling. If you want to do it the fancy way, crush the berries with a tablespoon or so of water and then strain out the seeds before proceeding with the drink. If you want to, you can run a little water or lime around the rim of the rocks glass and dip it into sugar before you pour in the cocktail to give it a pretty edge. -MissGinsu —MissGinsu
Food52 Review: A classic caipirinha is made with cachaca (distilled from sugar cane), sugar and lime juice. MissGinsu's version doesn't stray far -- she adds fresh blackberries, which dye the drink a deep purple. It's bright and a little austere. The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of sugar, but you may want to add more to taste if your blackberries are tart. Add any extra sugar after the drink is shaken, and shake it again to dissolve the added sugar. If you can't find cachaca, you can use white rum. - Amanda & Merrill —The Editors
Serves one
- 6-8 plump blackberries
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1/2 lime, cut into 3 wedges
- 2 ounces cachaça (or substitute white rum)
- 3/4 cup ice cubes
- In a shaker or pint glass, muddle/mash up the blackberries and the sugar with two of the lime wedges.
- Add the cachaça or rum and the ice. Cover well and shake vigorously.
- Remove and discard the crushed lime wedges. Pour the mixture into a rocks glass and use the remaining wedge of lime as a garnish.
- Your Best End of Summer Cocktail Contest Winner!
More Great Recipes:
Fruit|Cocktail|5 Ingredients or Fewer|Vegetarian|Summer|Fall
Showing out of comments
5 months ago Ann Hupe
Uh... I'd just keep it to cachaça. It tastes totally different than rum as it is not a molasses-based spirit. As for different brands, here's Wikipedia's list: https://en.wikipedia.org...
I love caipirinhas! The secret is to muddle, muddle, muddle those lime pieces! Pick limes with plenty of lime oil in its zest. Avoid anything that looks dried-out.
5 months ago Ann Hupe
Uh... I'd just keep it to cachaça. It tastes totally different than rum as it is not a molasses-based spirit. As for different brands, here's Wikipedia's list: https://en.wikipedia.org...
I love caipirinhas! The secret is to muddle, muddle, muddle those lime pieces! Pick limes with plenty of lime oil in its zest. Avoid anything that looks dried-out.
9 months ago Stephanie G
This is a favorite drink recipe. I have enjoyed this recipe for years; ever since it was published in the first cookbook.
almost 2 years ago rachel
What brand cachaca did you use? I have only seen 51?
over 3 years ago Emma Brett
We make these all of the time, I pick blackberries when they are in season and keep them in bags in the freezer. I make other things with them too but mainly we make these, they are delicious! The most popular cocktail that we serve at our regular brunches.
almost 5 years ago MrsK
Although I'm Brazilian (born in the US) I'm not a purist: this sounds wonderful! I wonder if blackberries (my favorites) wouldn't work too... Mmmm...
over 3 years ago MrsK
I meant to write "blueberries"! :-)
almost 7 years ago fitsxarts
super delicious and not too sweet. added some mint and muddled that too. a keeper!
almost 7 years ago mtlabor
What a beautiful drink! Sounds like the perfect thirst quencher =) Might even try this with our plentiful blueberries!
almost 7 years ago wssmom
Just made it this evening -- delightful!
almost 7 years ago Dabblings
I just made this. Drinking it as I type. I love it! Thanks so much for sharing :)
over 7 years ago cheese1227
Just made this! It is the thing I've picked to savor for today. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
over 7 years ago sygyzy
Great cocktail, made it last night for our Bite Club dinner. Check it out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos...
almost 8 years ago MissGinsu
What a delight to see this recipe return to the foreground during peak-season for berries!
I just picked up some raspberries at the market today, and I haven't made this recipe since last year, so it might be just the ticket on a steamy Sunday afternoon.
But here's the problem... you guys did such a fab job with the photography on all these cocktails, I'm hard-pressed to choose just one. :)
Showing 14 out of 14 comments