This 3-Ingredient Brazilian Cocktail Is The Perfect Summer Sip

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Very few drink components are as summery as lime, which is why you see it in warm-weather faves like Margaritas and Mojitos. For our poolside or beachfront refreshment, we agree that lime is the ideal summertime cocktail base... but we'll take ours in a tart, boozy Brazilian Caipirinha. Lime, combined with sugar and the Brazilian spirit called cachaça (say: kuh-SHAH-suh), is all you need for a dreamy drink that is strong, tropical, and absolutely meant for sipping in the sunshine. The closest relative of cachaça is rum, but while rum is distilled from molasses, a sugarcane byproduct, cachaça is made with juiced sugarcane. 

You can mix up this drink right in the glass. Just pour a few ounces of cachaça, add sugar and lime wedges, then use a cocktail muddler to grind the lime into the granules of sugar to release the juice and sweet-smelling oils. While some bartenders will quibble over the question of whether cocktail garnishes are necessary, we say that a Caipirinha isn't complete without a thick, juicy cut of lime on the glass to really take that bracing, appealing citrus flavor over the top.

Given the relationship between rum and cachaça, it shouldn't surprise you that the Caipirinha shares a strong spiritual connection with a basic Daiquiri, the mastery of which is one step to seriously improve your mixology game. Like a Daiquiri, a Caipirinha can be customized in many delicious ways, or enjoyed simply in its most essential recipe.

Once upon a time, so the story goes, Brazilian sugarcane farmers mixed the first Caipirinhas as a tonic against the deadly Spanish Flu. We don't know about any antiviral properties that a mixed drink might have, but we do think a Caipirinha can seriously improve your day. An approved Brazilian variation on their beloved cocktail is the Caipirinha de Maracuja, or passion fruit Caipirinha, which is made with the pulp and juice of a passion fruit. Unsurprisingly, any tropical fruit can be added to a Caipirinha successfully — think mango, papaya, or coconut. If you use fresh coconut, here are some tips on how to easily open one. 

We've also seen a Caipirinha served over a glassful of crushed ice, which elevates its refreshment quotient while simultaneously dialing down the alcoholic kick. Want to increase its resemblance to a neon slushy drink without the food coloring? Spike it with a bit of blueberry liqueur for a pretty purple blush. To riff further on the theme of "colorful and not too powerful," mix your Caipirinha with some fizzy soda water and a splash of hibiscus syrup for the ultimate, scarlet-hued Caipirinha cooler. In Brazil, the "Caipirinha especial da casa" or "house special Caipirinha" is often the most delightful and anticipated surprise of a new watering hole, so feel free to experiment with fruits, spices, and serving methods to make this sipper your own — summer cocktails were never so fun and delicious.