- 1
Cut a lime into 8 wedges and place 4–6 wedges into an old-fashioned glass.
- 2
Add 10g of demerara sugar directly onto the lime wedges.
- 3
Muddle firmly for 20–30 seconds to dissolve the sugar and extract both the juice and the aromatic oils from the lime peel.
- 4
Fill the glass with ice cubes.
- 5
Pour 75ml of cachaça over the ice.
- 6
Stir well for 10–15 seconds to integrate and chill.
- 7
Garnish with a remaining lime wedge on the rim and serve immediately.
The key to a great Caipirinha is muddling the lime wedges skin-side down to maximise the release of essential oils from the peel - this is what gives the drink its distinctive aromatic lift and separates it from a simple lime sour. Demerara sugar's larger crystals also act as an abrasive during muddling, helping to extract more juice and oil from the fruit.
Cocktails like this one
Scan your bottles, learn what you can pour right now.
My Bar Shelf reads your shelf and shows you every cocktail you can make from what you already own, including Dark Caipirinha.