Cocktail
Caipirinha
Brazil’s cachaça classic uses the whole lime, not just its juice. Gentle muddling captures peel aroma without grinding the bitter pith.
Cachaça · Citrusy · Fresh
Ingredients
Ice and water are assumed. Add everything else you have.
Method
Muddle & build
Equipment: Jigger or measuring spoon · Bar spoon
- Cut the lime into 8 wedges per serving. Put it in a sturdy rocks glass with the sugar.
- Press gently until the lime releases juice and the sugar is mostly dissolved. Do not pulverise the peel.
- Fill with cracked ice, add the cachaça and stir from the bottom.
A small detail
The IBA formula uses 4 teaspoons sugar. Lime size and acidity vary; record any sweetness adjustment as your own version.
Estimated strength
Strong
What does this mean?
Per serving: ≈ 21.8% ABV · ≈ 18.9 g alcohol
An estimate, not a measurement. Dilution lowers concentration but does not remove alcohol. Check your bottle label. These typical alcohol levels can vary by brand and market.
Added water from ice: 10%. Water added as a percentage of the measured liquid before mixing. Ice melt varies with temperature, time and technique.
Plan for a party
Mix individually
Fresh preparation makes the difference here. Use these totals to shop, then make each serving separately.
Guests: 6
Fresh preparation makes the difference here. Use these totals to shop, then make each serving separately.
One recipe serving per guest. Choose the amount you want to prepare.
Ingredients for the party
- 360 ml Cachaça
- 6 pieces Lime (whole lime, cut into 8 wedges)
- 24 tsp White sugar
Water for the batch
Keep the ice and water steps in the single-serving method. Scaling ingredients alone does not replace chilling or dilution.
Prepare and serve
- Prepare fresh juice close to serving and keep it chilled separately unless it is explicitly in the base. Fresh batches are for this service, not an overnight storage promise.
- Muddle the fruit, cucumber or ginger per serving. Pre-measuring is fine; a large stored mash changes the extraction and texture.
- Dissolve the measured sugar as the original method describes before chilling. A teaspoon of sugar is not a teaspoon of syrup.
The list saves ingredient names, not party quantities. Check the totals above against how much you have. Garnishes and ice are not added.
Bartender sources: Campari Academy: batching techniques · Dave Arnold: measuring dilution and batching · Simon Difford: water and dilution · Jeffrey Morgenthaler: batch calculator
Sources & inspiration
About this recipe
Recipes and house adaptations have source links. Measures, substitutions and estimated strength are explained separately. Images are AI-generated illustrations.
We do not claim every recipe has been physically tested. Community reviews are moderated user reports, separate from recipe sources.
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