Hello everyone! I hope you’re enjoying your weekend. It is officially rhubarb season, so it’s safe to say whenever I can get my hands on some, I’ll be making cocktails with it! I made rhubarb syrup for another post on A Beautiful Mess and I couldn’t let it go to waste. The syrup turned out so good and you can easily replace simple syrup in most recipes for this stuff. The possibilities are endless! A winning combination is to pair rhubarb with strawberry, so I did a Strawberry Rhubarb Caipirinha. They are super easy to make and are so refreshing. Perfect for this time of year!
The main ingredient here is Cachaça. This spirit is called the rum of Brazil and rightfully so. The main differences between Cachaça and Rum are that most rums are made from sugarcane by-products like molasses. Cachaça is made from fresh pressed sugar cane, so the end result is a much more fresh, earthy, and grassy tasting spirit. My favorite Cachaça is Avuá Amburana which is a Cachaça that has been aged in Amburana wood that is indigenous to that part of South America. Resting it in this wood gives the Cachaça baking spice flavors like cinnamon, allspice, vanilla and fresh sugarcane. These flavors go so well with the rhubarb and strawberries that we’re adding to our Caipirinha. It’s like we’re eating delicious boozy rhubarb pie! You can also use a non-aged Cachaça like the Avuá Prata as well.
Strawberry Rhubarb Caipirinha, serves 1
2 oz. Avuá Amburana
3/4 oz. Rhubarb Syrup**
3 lime wedges cut into half (quarters)
2 small strawberries cut in half
1 sugar cube
Add sugar cube, lime quarters, strawberries, and rhubarb syrup to your tin and muddle. Add the Cachaça and then add cracked ice.
Do a quick shake, back and forth 6-8 times. We will be using the same ice we shook on, which is common in “peasant” style drinks, so after shaking open your tin and dump the cocktail into a rocks glass.
Rhubarb Syrup
Add 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a pot on the stove with 4 cups of chopped rhubarb. Let simmer on the stove until all sugar has dissolved and the rhubarb is cooked, about 20 minutes. Strain the syrup into a bowl using a fine mesh sieve. Discard the rhubarb solids, or you can save them to use like a jam. I did and used it to spread on toast. Yum! This syrup will keep refrigerated for 2 weeks to a month.
This cocktail is super easy to make at home and I could totally enjoy these all summer long. The flavor combinations in the Cachaça and the fruit go so well together, this is certainly my most favorite Caipirinha that I have ever had.
Even Phil my cat is enjoying them in the livingroom!
I hope you decide to make these at home and if you do please let me know how they turn out in the comments below. Cheers everyone!
