Cachaça is a spirit I’m really beginning to love, though my only experiences so far have been Pitú, perhaps the cheapest option on the market (though it was really good for the price, and makes great caipirinhas) and the Novo Fogo I can find around here, the 2 year Barrel-Aged. At first I found the oak intriguing, but it got kind of boring after the first couple pours, and made caipirinhas that were essentially indistinguishable from a whiskey sour (sans egg white). So anyway I picked up this “top shelf” offering from my local store and the cashier actually told me when he had Brazilian guests over, this was by far their favorite.
Smells of sugarcane, balsa wood, and damp hay. The taste is lightly sweet with flavors of grass, honey, plum, and fig. The finish has a moderate burn, featuring notes of some kind of wood (apparently freijó), bitter herbs, and tobacco. Overall it’s not particularly fruity, and a bit abrasive on the palate, but also not meant to be drunk straight like this, and does have a more neutral flavor than the aged Novo Fogo. Indeed, caipirinhas are delicious yet complex, with a touch of wood and grassiness rounding out the sweet/sour lime; kinda in between Pitú and aged Novo Fogo.