Caipirinha!

I confess that drinking is an important part of my week. I work from Monday to Saturday and, on weekends, I enjoy cooking and making drinks or going to the beach with my husband and having a beer. Alcohol is something I think about when I'm planning the budget every time I write my grocery shopping list.
I'm not saying that I like alcohol abuse. No way! I just think it's something relaxing and we can enjoy some moments with our family and friends, eating and drinking in a healthy way.

I have been writing for months now and I believe the readers of this blog are aware of the fact that I'm a Brazilian. How come nobody has never asked me about how to make a caipirinha yet?!!! In fact, there are so few people leaving comments... C'mon, guys! Let's share our opinions here!

Caipirinha is a (perfect) Brazilian drink with cachaça, a very strong liquor made of sugar cane. Many people like drinking pure cachaça. You can have it all in a single gulp like tequila, or you can sip it while eating something salty and greasy. I'm a girl when it comes to pure hard liquor. And if you are weak like me don't even try it. But I can have drinks. And caipirinha is one of my favorite ones.

Something foreigners don't know is that not every Brazilian knows how to make a great caipirinha or how to dance samba. Fortunately I know how to do both quite well! Besides being a little expensive to buy in bars, it's not just mixing a few ingredients and it's done. Making a good caipirinha needs feeling. It's a process that takes CARINHO, a word that doesn't have a perfect translation for English, but it's something you feel and give to people and things you truly love. It's similar to affection, but way better. So if you're not in the right mood, don't even start it.

First you put some good music to play. You need to drink it with people you like to be around, it's not a drink for lonely people.
Peel a lime. If you leave the lime's skin, it's going to get way too bitter. Cut it into small pieces an put it in a proper container to make drinks, with a spoon full of white sugar and squeeze all together using a pestle till you get all the lime juice. Caipirinhas are traditionally made with white cachaça, but I prefer the yellow ones, they are so tasty and delicious! Here in Brasil I always buy a blend called Boazinha (the translation of this name is something like 'quite good'... so funny!), it's 20 reais for 1000ml. I also like Salinas and Velho Barreiro a lot. So, you put 1 and 1/5 shot glasses of cachaça in the container with limes and sugar, put some chopped ice in it and shake it. (Shake it like a polaroid) Hahahaha! Just kiddin!!! But shake it well. Open the container and put what's inside in a glass. Caipirinhas are so amazing that the glass doesn't matter so much. But choose a nice and pretty one. Put some ice cubes inside and now it's a good idea for you to put just a small (tiny) slice of lime skin to give it a bittersweet taste. I like to wait a couple of minutes before drinking it to admire this piece of art and to wait for the taste to settle down after all the shaking. Use a straw to drink it, don't worry and be happy!!! :D

What's your favorite drink? How do you make it! If you make a caipirinha, tell me everything about it!!!!