Cachaca is a very weird spirit for pubs and bars here in the UK. I mean, we pretty much know it as Brazilian rum, but after that, knowledge about Cachaca is pretty minimal. And to see it actually out in the wilds, well, that is very rare. Top end cocktail bars and hotel bars, yeah, you'll probably see it. Revo de Cuba, yeah, you should see a bottle there. But your standard pub or bar, no, not a chance.
So, what is Cachaca?
Should you, as a pub or bar, stock it?
And if you do stock it, how do you flippin' well make money from it?
Because the last thing you want is this bad boy sitting on your back of your bar, gathering dust and not making any money from it at all. Every bottle on your back bar should be turned over at least once a month, but ideally every week or so.
So, without getting too geeky, Cachaca, as I've previously said, we know it as Brazilian rum, but please don't compare it to your average, typical rum. This is a cane juice rum. Now, if your head is instantly going towards Martinique and Guadeloupe and maybe Madeira, again, don't compare Cachaca to those. They are rum Agricole, and they have very different rules and regulations about how they're made, which makes a very different end product to Cachaca. Essentially, this is made from fresh cane juice, not molasses, fresh cane juice that's then fermented and then distilled, and more often than not, unaged. I would say it does have that sort of funky, grassy sort of traits that you might get from an Agricole, from Martinique and Guadeloupe, but I actually find it more approachable, which probably means for rum Agricole fans, it's not quite what they're looking for, but I'm quite happily sipping that, that's delicious.
So, if you are a pub or a bar and you buy a bottle of this, how are you flipping well going to make some money from it?
Well, the simple answer is pretty much one cocktail, and it's the Caipirinha.
How to make a Caipirinha
1 Lime Cut into Quarters, then Cubed. (Put 1 Wedge/2 Cubes to one side)
15ml Sugar Syrup
50ml Cachaca
Add the Lime Cubes to a glass. Add the Sugar and Muddle. Top up with Crushed Ice. Add the Cachaca. Churn!
(However, as you'll see in the video, I do prefer using a toughened glass that fits inside a Boston Shaker, that way I can make the cocktail in the glass, shake it, then dump it back in the glass).
I flipping love Caipirinhas. Now, as far as session cocktail goes, and I'm not encouraged binge drinking, but if you are going to have two, three, four of the same cocktails, this is what a hell of a candidate. I genuinely don't think I would ever get bored of drinking that. I'm going to put this out there. As far as ease of making, as far as fun to drink, I might actually consider possibly making that every time my head went to a daiquiri.
I think if you serve the daiquiri like that in your pub and bar, I think you'd sell a hell of a lot more rum.
Now, of course, the really cool thing about simple and tasty drinks like this, is they're very easy to put your own riffs and twists on them. If the classic Caipirinha got a bit stale on your cocktail menus, just simply swap the sugar syrup out for a flavour of your choice.
For example, instead of sugar, you could go passion fruit puree. You could go one of my favourites, which is guava puree. Or you could go for a crowd favourite of strawberry puree.
It's exactly these kinds of drinks, these kind of cocktails, that will end up putting so much more money in your tills. And it's exactly why I personally love working with all these different syrup brands and ODK and everyone, because brands like Real, like Monin, like ODK, just make it so easy for you to stand out against your competition.
The only slight issue you have with Cachaca and Caipirinhas is getting your customers, getting your guests on them in the first place. But I promise you, once they taste the drink, they are going to come back for a second, third, fourth, and fifth. I guarantee they are that good, they'll just end up staying on them all night.