Cachaçais so much more than the clear Caipirinha crucial you ’re used to watch . In Brazil , cachaça as a category is just as various as thewhiskeysection of any skillful American liquor store . It comes season , sweeten or aged , and ranges in color from readable to yellow to bull - hue . Though cachaça has yet to rightfully take off to such extremes in the US , exposure from the World Cup in 2014 and the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics mean Brazil and its main boozy exportation are more popular and wide-ranging stateside than ever before .
Aged cachaça is one of Brazil ’s most challenging spirited exports to date . Where silver cachaça is vegetal and grassy , aged cachaça is complex and almost honey with superimposed notes of wood and tropic fruits . Unlike many unaged cachaças , aged cachaça can and should be sip straight . They can also add luscious depth to a traditional or yield - spike Caipirinha , or be used as a substitute in rummy , whiskey and tequila cocktail .
Brazilian lawrequires that 50 percent of the cachaça in a bottle be rested in bbl for at least a yr to be considered “ elderly . ” Though it can be , and often is , aged in oak tree , which convey flavors and aromas similar to whisky , cachaça also benefits from its Brazilian heritage ( hello , various flora of the Amazon rainforest ! ) . Many producer choose to senesce their cachaça in aboriginal woods like amburana , true cedar , freijó , garapa , balsa wood , vinhático and jequitibá .
Miquel Llonch/Stocksy
Though the natural selection of aged cachaças — often labeled as ouro ( “ gold”)—available in the US is still limited compared to the one C of versions found in the mother country , more and more are belt down up on liquor shop shelves across the land . To assist you get start on your ripened cachaça journeying , we pluck out a few bottlings to add to your summertime drinking roster .
AvuáAmburana($50) &Oak($61)
If you ’re a regular in craft cocktail barroom , you ’ve in all likelihood seen one of these tall , off - kilter nursing bottle delineate the bar . After its launch in 2013 , Avuá quickly became a bartender favorite . Aside from its unaged bottling , the brand also make two ripened version . The first is aged in barrels made from an endemic Brazilian wood — amburana — that leave savory and fruity musical note to the already grassy and herbaceous booze . In late 2014 , the brand added its young offering : a French oak - aged cachaça . If you ’re already a devotee of aged rummy , Oak is your gateway into the human beings of cachaça and a solid fill-in in classic rum cocktails .
Novo FogoBarrel-Aged($38)
Though this cachaça is made along the Atlantic sea-coast of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil , it ’s maturate in American oak barrels , which should ignite a spark of familiarity for whiskey aficionados . The organic spirit is aged for two to three yr and aim on flavors akin to that of bourbon , but it also develops banana - forward characteristic . Try this in an Old Fashioned or a Toddy to play up its versatility . Also keep an eye out for Novo Fogo ’s special edition undivided cask - elderly cachaças , include four that were released in 2016 , as well as its other extra releases like the Graciosa , which is finish in Brazil freak barrels .
Armazem Vieira Onix($78)
peculiar what 10 - plus years of aging does to cachaça ? Armazem Vieira let its Onix philosophers' stone rest for 16 years . But unlike the feel thrown in barrel and mostly go forth alone for that period of time , this is ripened and blend in solera - style . While you could mix this for a particularly flavorful cachaça cocktail , try sip it neat or on the rock to appreciate its adolescent mystique .
Pitú Gold($26 for 1L)
If you ’re not familiar with Pitú ’s deeper - hued gold variation , it ’s potential you ’ve seen its clean , prawn - deck babe on the back of a prevention at some percentage point in your drinking life history . The brand has been around since 1938 and is named for the Riacho Pitú , a current that irrigate sugarcane plantations in the region . This brightly herbal interpretation gets its color and sweet , vanilla notes from two years of ageing in oak drum .
GRM Cachaça($69)
Made in Minas Gerais , a region known for produce quality cachaças , GRM works for its goodly price tag . Though it only spends two old age in barrel , it ’s aged in three unlike type of wood : oak , amburana and jequitibá - rosa . Sip it on the Rock or neat to amply apprise its subtlety , or swap it for the tequila in a Margarita .
Ypióca Cachaça Ouro($34)
The old Brazilian cachaça brand still in military operation , Ypióca was institute in 1843 and can still be found all over Brazil and in the US . This particular cachaça is get on for two year in balsam Sir Henry Joseph Wood vats , pass on it a plush , smoky flavor . It ’s comfortable to fleck in the pot likker store , sporting a hand - woven carnauba palm bottle . Though it can be used in all kinds of cocktail , it makes a mean Caipirinha .
Cachaça Cuca Ouro($25)
comparatively low-cal in color compared to its barrel - aged blood brother , this yellow - tinge purport has a whopping four year of years on it . And forget the oak — this cachaça is aged in native Brazilian jequitiba Ellen Price Wood . Get the full effect of its spicy , nutty flavor by sipping it on the rocks , or try it in a tiki concoction .
Maison Leblon Reserva Especial($30)
Leblon is no doubt one of the more well - know cachaça brands in the US , but its aged version of the sprightliness ( released in 2011 ) still has yet to becharm up in popularity with its celebrated unaged cousin . It looks like a bottle of boutique whiskey on the liquor store shelf , but the amber cachaça ’s taste is punishing to disconcert . mature up to two years in Limousin French oak , it takes on whacky and sweet honey equipment characteristic that merge nicely into cocktail classically made with whiskey .
Avuá Cachaça
Pitú
Cuca Fresca