On Monday, January 17, The Teardrop Lounge had a party featuring “Beyond The Caipirinha”, sponsored by Novo Fogo Cachaça Organico, with bartenders Evan Martin and Jacob Grier behind the stick.
There were several outstanding cocktails featured during the evening including
Novo Fogo Negroni #9
Silver cachaça infused with pineapple and Thai basil, Cardamaro, Imbue Vermouth, orange peel
Honey & Spice
Barrel Aged Cachaça, pumpkin blossom honey, bitter orange shrub, Pimento Dram, Laphroaig rinse, orange peel
Quentão
Barrel Aged Cachaça, ginger syrup, hot mulled cider, cinnamon stick
Antiquado
Barrel Aged Cachaça, Trader Tiki Cinnamon Syrup, chocolate bitters, kumquat bitters, orange peel
Howard Roark
Barrel Aged Cachaça, Yellow Chartreuse, mint, chocolate bitters, champagne, mint leaf garnish
But the one getting the raves was a cocktail introduced by Jacob Grier, The Crystal Caipirinha.
The Crystal Caiprinha
2 oz Novo Fogo Silver Organic Cachaça
1 oz clarified lime juice
0.75 oz simple syrup
Stir with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a lime zest expressed over the drink and dropped in as a twist.
The cocktail was…well, tell you what: in a subsequent discussion with Novo Fogo owner, Dragos Axinte, he described it, and his cachaça, perfectly.
“This drink is served up perfectly clear! The Crystal Caipirinha received an enthusiastic response that evening and “the smoothest cachaça drink I’ve ever had” became a theme around the room. How could a caipirinha be called “smooth”? There are two simple reasons:
- The clarified lime juice softens the harsh notes of the lime and blends really well with the simple syrup. The juice is not easy to prepare; the clarification technique comes from the French Culinary Institute and requires agar agar plus a bit of time and cooking savvy. It represents a major milestone in caipirinha technique and I believe that this has never been done previously.
- I am proud to state, as a fact and not biased opinion, that Novo Fogo is the smoothest and most fragrant cachaça generally available in the USA. This is not due to the usual “dumbification” of the sugarcane identity, but in fact is created by heightening it. We handcraft our USDA organic-certified cachaças from sugarcane that we grow ourselves in our backyard, on the slope of Marumbi mountain, feet from the Atlantic Rainforest, often above the clouds, and always directly above the Atlantic Coast. The air is clean, our process is 100% natural, and as a result, our cachaça tastes like its environment – the rainforest in a bottle.
Furthermore, one year in stainless steel tanks – that preserve its original flavor and clear appearance – adds to the smoothness. (Also note our barrel-aged cachaça, which spends 2+ years in small, repurposed bourbon casks.) Our distillery is a zero-waste business and is visited regularly by many from around the world who seek to learn about true sustainability.
Dragos, never at a loss for enthusiasm and loquacity when it comes to his favorite topics, went on.
“Jacob is a thinker and a tinkerer and this cocktail once again highlights Portland’s known cutting-edge creativity and technique. Now I know from experience that most bartenders love any notoriety that highlights their cleverness, so I hope that a few of them will try to top Jacob’s creation with something of their own. Can other bartenders take the caipirinha to the next level as well as, or better than Jake?!
We will be serving this cocktail again this coming Wednesday 1/26 at the Science of Cocktails event inside the Exploratorium in San Francisco (http://visit.exploratorium.edu/events/science-of-cocktails). Look for Evan Martin (Novo Fogo Cachaça Empresario and bar manager at Naga in Bellevue, WA) and Ali Tahsini (from San Francisco’s Bourbon & Branch), who will be stirring cachaça cocktails together.
Dragos extended a challenge, and an offer, for anyone interested in designing a cocktail around Novo Fogo:
“I invite anyone to create their own unusual variation of the caipirinha (with their favorite cachaça). Any valiant effort will be rewarded with a write-up to our communities of fans. Anyone interested can send us their recipe, and a photo if available, posted to our FB page, by Twitter, or email to tree@novofogo.com
I’ll extend that offer as well! Send your recipe to the Portland Spirits Examiner via the comments section, and I’ll make sure it gets featured in its own column.
For more information about Novo Fogo, visit their fascinating website here. And for more about Jacob Grier bartender and renaissance man, visit his widely ranging blog.
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