I made this drink to submit to Joelen's blog, where she is hosting a Wine and Dine Event. This month features Brazilian cuisine. I didn't know too much about Brazilian food, but I did know there was a lime drink similar to a mojito. After a little research, I found its name - caipirinha.
A caipirinha is made with cachaça, a sugar cane-based alcohol. Lime and sugar are "muddled," or mashed together in a glass. Ice and cachaça are mixed in. Since tangerines are in season right now, I decided to substitute it for the lime.
I used two kinds of tangerines. One was small, round, and seedless. This tangerine was great for muddling and garnishing, but the juice wasn't sweet. My local produce market has a wonderful supply of locally grown honey tangerines, which burst with a pungent and sweet juice. Because they have a ton of seeds, I used them only for the juice. The result was very refreshing - perfect for a summer afternoon (or a warm Florida winter).
Tangerine Caipirinha
2 seedless tangerines, peeled and sectioned
1 1/2 Tbs sugar
Ice
3 oz tangerine juice
3 oz cachaça
tangerine slices
Place sectioned tangerines and sugar in a tall glass. Muddle together with the back of a spoon until juice is just released. Add enough ice to fill the glass half way. Add tangerine juice and cachaça, and stir. Garnish with tangerine slices.
Fabulous! I love your use of tangerines in this! Thanks so much for submitting this to this month's Wine & Dine! Stay tuned for the round up this weekend!
ReplyDeleteSeeing your post was great as I love caipirinhas and recently started doing the same thing, making them with tangerines myself (and even lemons sometimes!). I use the Florida honey tangerines which sound like the same ones you are using, but I don't add any extra juice (then, I only make mine with around 2 oz of cachaca). Which cachacas do you like particularly?
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
I'm certainly no expert at Brazilian spirits, so I used cachaca 51. It seemed pretty popular, and since it is for mixed drinks, I was okay with buying a less-expensive bottle. I also have made it with strawberries and lime - reminds me of a stawberry margarita.
ReplyDeleteI love the use of tangerines! My husband is Brazilian so we have caipirinhas a lot - the traditional ones though. Next time I'm going to have to give this variety a shot!
ReplyDelete