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Cachaca – Abelha Gold

 

This cachaca is silky like butter but not without letting you know its an alcoholic spirit…

A year ago i wrote about the Abelha organic cachaca and tried out their silver which I liked a lot. Now its time to try out their aged cachaca – Abelha Gold.

Abelha is a small batch organic cachaca and thus contains no chemical products. From the green sugar cane the natural yeasts are used for fermentation and the farmers in Bahia where Abelha is made grows 100% organic sugarcane which isn`t burnt ( a requirement for beeing called organic) and is distilled in small batches in traditional copper stills.

Abelha Gold is aged for 3 years in small 250L garapeira wooden barrels – and this species of wood which is native to Brazil does not change the flavor and character of the cachaca in the same way as an imported oak barrel does – instead it imparts a unique honey and spiced note to the spirit paired with a beautiful mellow tone resulting in a flavorful well-balanced cachaca.

The flavor has hints of dried tropical fruits, honey and vanilla and has a woody character…slightly topped off with the typical grassy notes of fresh sugarcane. Its on the sweet side but not too much. The nose is woody/grassy.

The cool lively and colorful bottle labels makes me happy and are made by Holly Wales and Anthony Sheret. I really would like to see this cachaca sold outside of the UK…more people deserves to taste this good stuff! let`s hope for that it will in a not too distant future. At the back of the label it says – Drink responsably – this cachaca is too good to mess about with.

That`s a good advice..and now its time for a  cocktail…I`m in a pineapple mood so a little twist on the Pineapple Delight is in order and really, this cachaca is made for that kinda drink.

GOLDEN BEE

golden-bee

6-7 fresh pineapple chunks

2 oz Abelha Gold

0.5 oz fresh lime juice

1 barspoon vanilla honey

1/4 oz sugarcane syrup

Top with Ting

Float Smith & Cross

Garnish pineapple leaves, slice and lime slice

Scoop out a pineapple and set aside and save a few leaves for garnish and a pineapple slice. Don´t scoop too deep as it will leak. Before serving fill it up with crushed ice.

Muddle pineapple chunks, vanilla honey and lime in shaker. Add Abelha cachaca and shake with ice and strain into the pineapple filled with crushed ice and top with Ting, then float Smith & Cross. Finally garnish with the pineapple leaves, slice and a wedge of lime, make sure these don`t touch too deep so the drink doesn`t become bitter.

This drink is so TASTY! please try it!

I also wanted to try out the Golden Fashioned from Detroit Bar in Covent Garden but that drink contains smoked sugar and since i have no equipment for smoking sugar i leave that for those who can. But here`s the recipe.

Golden Fashioned

50ml Abelha gold
Stirred up with smoked sugar (dash water to dissolve sugar)
Dash grapefruit bitters
Ice, and stir just like an old fashioned
Orange and lemon skin twist

Abelha is as far as i know only sold in London – a link is here: http://www.abelha.co.uk/where-to-buy-cachaca-abelha-in-london/

Abelha cachaca is certified by the IBD in Brasil, and the UK import is certified organic by the Organic Farmers and Growers.

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MXMO LI (51) – ITS LIME TIME!

mxmologo

Its lime time people! this months Mixology Monday is all about lime and hosted by the Pegu Blog.

The next round of Mixology Monday (a.k.a. The Carnival That Created the Cocktailosphere) will once again be hosted here at the Pegu Blog. This month, I thought we should examine one of the most ubiquitous items in any decent bar: Limes.

i don`t think i`ve ever been without lime..not since i started to mix up cocktails and blog about them. Somehow there´s always a lime somewhere it seems. I can be without mint..like i am now – no mint here, and the shop was without too..but limes? no way, the shops here are NEVER short of limes.

The limes we get here are two types, one small and one real big from Brazil. i like those from Brazil..they have much juice and aren`t sour, just very nice. And the large size gives much peel to make garnish with as well.

For this MxMo there`s tons of drinks i could choose from but i still choose the good old Mai Tai…even though i`m out of mint and a Mai Tai without the mint garnish is kinda sacrilege…but sometimes we just need to do that still and really…i´m not changing the recipe here by adding blasphemies like amaretto, grenadine or pineapple juice! i`m just out of mint..and to my rescue the lime is here!

But i`m gonna tell you folks the truth…the real reason why i`m choosing a Mai Tai and not another cocktail – heck i could even have invented something new! – is that i`m so darn thirsty for one! and i wanna see what happens when one combines the Smith & Cross with a good high proof demerara..that makes two high proof rums and a helluwa Mai Tai i believe.

Using high proof rum in a Mai Tai isn`t necessary but its nice sometimes and of course you could mix one lower proof and one higher as well.

Thank you Pegu blog for giving me an occasion to once again write about and mix up such a nice drink containing lime as the Mai Tai.

Perfect for a lime-themed MxMo! are you with me?

POTENT MAI TAI

potent-mai-tai-mxmo

1 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican rum
1 oz highproof demerara such as Lemon Hart151 or other full proof demerara.
1 oz fresh lime juice (one big lime)
0.5 oz orange curacao (or 1/4 Cointreau)
0.25 oz each of orgeat and simple syrup

Mix all ingredients and shake with ice.  Strain into a glass over crushed ice. Garnish with lime shell and a sprig of mint. or if you don`t have any mint, like me now, use lime. Its all `bout the lime today right?

I never get tired of the Mai Tai, its one of those drinks that just sticks with you. When i get old i want to have a Mai Tai served daily..

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DEL MAGUEY VIDA

del-maguey-vida-and-crema

At this years Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans I went to the mezcal tasting on the sunday. There was a new product there from Del Maguey to try which is their latest addition of single village mezcals, – the Vida.

Vida is primarily made for mixing, but it sips well and was made to be more affordable yet still made with premium handcrafted spirits and is produced without any chemicals or colorings and is distilled twice. Its made together with Paciano Cruz Nolasco who produces one of my favorites in the Del Maguey range, the San Luis del Rio, which – you also can find in the Crema which is the one I like the most.

Vida is produced exactly like it has been since 400 years according to the local tradition using small-batch distillation with only the agave heart and water in the mezcal, nothing else.

You`ll find all kinda flavors in this – honey and fruit, vanilla and roast agave…its smoky and spicy, sweet and sour.

OK, I think its time to mix something up..

And with these two drinks i`m trying to capture the summer and make it stay for just a little more…ignoring the cold temps outside…with that gentle little touch of smoke that you get from good mezcals.

VIDA SWIZZLE

vida-swizzle

1 oz Del Maguey Vida

1 oz green chartreuse

1 oz fresh pink grapefruit juice

0.5 oz fresh lime

0.5 oz Trader Tiki`s vanilla syrup

2 dashes Trader Tiki`s falernum bitters

Add ingredients to a glass full of crushed ice. Swizzle until the glass frost on the outside and garnish with a lime rose.

MEXICAN STAR

mexican-star

1 oz Del Maguey Vida

1 oz Del Maguey Crema de Mezcal

0.5 oz fresh lime juice

0.25 oz sugar cane syrup (Petit Canne)

2 dashes Bittermen`s grapefruit bitters

2-3 dashes Bittermen`s Xocolatl Mole bitters

Top with Ting

Crushed ice

Lime for garnish

Shake all ingredients except Ting with ice and strain into a glass with crushed ice. Top up with Ting and garnish with a spiraled lime.

If you can`t find Ting, use another grapefruit soda or use fresh grapefruit juice.

How to make a spiraled lime:

Stick bamboo skewer through the lime from top to bottom. Then cut around the lime in a spiraled manner from top to the bottom and all the way in to the stick. Take out the skewer and carefully stretch out the spiraled lime a bit before placing it in the glass.

I think Vida is an excellent mezcal and I liked to mix it with the crema which adds a little bit extra creamy sweetness…

You can read more about Del Maguey mezcal here.