Brazil Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Leblon Cachaça

Posted on May 18, 2020June 21, 2020 by Nick

When you look at most menu’s, you’re libel to find the usual suspects as bases for drinks. You’ll definitely see your gin, whiskey, tequila, rum, and vodka. You might see wine or even an amaro based drink. Yet, unless you’re in a Brazilian restaurant or in Brazil, you’re unlikely to see one of the most consumed spirits in the world. Cachaça.

If you’re familiar with rum, and you open a bottle of silver Cachaça, you might feel like you’re drinking a rhum agricole. This is no accident, as both rhum agricole and Cachaça utilize fermented sugar cane juice in their creation. These of course aren’t the only regulations – as the TTB points out in their release, there’s a whole host of things that make Cachaça tick – including a regulation keep alcohol content between 38 and 48%. By the same release – it’s worth noting that Cachaça is also technically a rum.

In this case, you can think of Cachaça as an elevated subcategory of rum – like Cognac is to brandy.

Speaking of Cognac, Leblon Cachaça takes a bit of a different path to your shelf than Novo Fogo. Instead of being rested in stainless steel, Leblon ends up taking a trip to France via brandy cured casks that it’s aged in. So does this give it an edge?

Leblon Cachaça

Sight: Essentially colorless.

Smell: Fresh grass, ripe bananas, lightly press herbs, and a touch of vanilla raft out. There’s a slightly pithy citrus note present as well.

Sip: The body is light to moderate, and the texture is slightly viscous. There’s very little perceivable sweetness, but there are herbal and citrus notes that begin almost immediately, if faintly. There’s a defined funkiness here that’s decidedly green and herbal – but it also tightly binds notes of vanilla and light wood into it.

Savor: The finish is smooth, and prolonged. If you’re not a fan of the grassy, herbal, raw cane flavor – then you’re going to find this finish unpleasant. Notes of citrus and a touch of vanilla show up as it goes.

Let’s just be clear – I’d be hard pressed to sit down and enjoy consuming Leblon Cachaça neat. In fairness to Leblon Cachaça, that’s not really the point here. Rather – the flavors extract themselves well in cocktails, but maintain enough character to have a presence. This makes it a great choice when looking to try to craft new drinks or make classics like the Caipirinha.

For this reason, we keep Leblon as our go to crafting Cachaça.

In Caipirinhas

Leblon is very much citrus and sweetness forward in a classic Caipirinha preparation. Notes of vanilla and ripe banana come forward rounding out notes of lime sorbet and gently pressed herbs. The finish is brief, but carries a sweetness and pleasantly lime and vanilla ending.

Our Final Thoughts – Lebelon Cachaça

There’s nothing wrong with Novo Fogo, in fact, depending on the day – I can probably suggest either. That said, I’ve found that Leblon tends to have broader distribution, and more reliable to keep on hand, and comparable in quality.

Others Share Their Thoughts on Leblon Cachaça:

Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Nick

From the first episode, I was hooked. It was late into the night, after midnight, but Anthony Bourdain was gracing my television from Ireland. He talked of the food, the culture, and the people. He talked of how Dublin was growing, and dined with famous chefs. Wanting nothing more than to find amazing food and understand famous chefs better – I couldn’t stop watching. Then in 2007 Anthony Bourdain visited São Paulo on No Reservations, and I learned about cachaça and the beautiful Caipirinha.

Cachaça is a liquor distilled from raw fermented sugarcane juice liquor from Brazil. This differs from rum, in that rum can be produced from molasses or other sugar by products. While it possible to make rum from raw sugarcane juice, such as a rhum agricole, it’s not possible to produce Cachaça from molasses. At one point in it’s history, cachaça was also labeled as Brazilian Rum, but don’t be confused. Compared to traditional rums, cachaça is far closer to a rhum agricole (think more grassy / earthy) than anything you’ll see from Bacardi or Captain Morgan. (To point out how different cachaça really is: When I finally got my hands on a bottle in my younger days, I compared it like a novice to a bastard child of white rum and tequila)

Just like rum, cachaça breaks down into 2 categories, silver (sometimes blanco or white) and gold (or ouro / amarela). Just like rum, silver cachaça is usually bottled immediately, where as the gold are aged (sometimes in native wood). While there are many producers of cachaça in Brazil, finding cachaça in the US can still be a challenge. Among those you might see is Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça

Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça

Sight: Essentially colorless.

Smell: A funky mix of fermented sugar cane juice and ethanol float out of the ether mixing with a grassy note. Touches of pithy citrus, green banana and raw sugar come through.

Sip: A medium weight with a slightly woodsy-grassy like start. A fermented sugar flavor with hints of plantain, tropical fruit, and pepper comes through next while touches of salinity and coconut water lining the background.

Savor: The finish lingers with a sugarcane and woodsy-cask like note. The finish lingers giving a touch of the fermented sugar flavor and plantain chip like flavor.

Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça is a clean, straightforward representation that can function like a workhorse in a cocktail. The sugar cane notes have a hint of tropical to them, and the mild salinity accentuates the flavor. With no oak aging, the spirit is allowed to shine – and you’ll find little trace of vanilla here.

In Caipirinhas

As a result of only being rested in stainless steel Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça ends up being on the savory side of thing. Plantain chips and earthy vegetal notes come forward complimenting the limes. The herbal character crosses with the lime to create a complexity reminiscent of pastis or chartreuse. There’s a balanced sweetness to compliment the savory notes and it lingers in an green, grassy, salinic way. Touches of mushroom flirt around the edges.

While it’s certainly interesting, those predisposed to tropical or vanilla flavors may not find that this is the bottle they reach for. That said, it’s certainly tasty, if not our number one cachaça.

Other’s Share Their Thoughts on Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça

Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur

Posted on July 26, 2019April 28, 2021 by Nick

Every now and then you just have to give into your impulses. On our trip to Florida, we greatly enjoyed indulging in a great variety of cocktails and liquors, including various rums that we can’t get in the Northeast Ohio. Packing up the bottle luggage* for the flight home, we had a little extra room, and stowed away a bottle of Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur.

On Its Own: Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur

A pure impulse buy based on seeking out new flavors, Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur comes in a black bottle, hiding a bright pink liqueur inside. Made in France, Passoa was originated by the Remy-Cointreau group and uses passion fruit as a main ingredient. After getting it home, we generally agreed that the nose certainly implies passion fruit, but that hints of candied watermelon and citrus are present as well. These same flavors carry over on the palate – with a healthy dose of sweetness and just a touch of alcohol on the finish.

In Cocktails

If you’d asked me what cocktails Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur goes in, I’d have looked at you like a deer in the headlights. To be honest, after having the bottle for a couple of months, I’m still rather at a loss. The most famous drink – or so Passoa claims – is the Porn Star Martini. This mix of vanilla vodka and passion fruit is served with a sidecar of champagne – which Absolut was apparently happy to derive an entire marketing document from.

I actually find the entire thing is worth a read, and quite charming. That aside – we’ve yet to find a perfect use for Passoa as of writing this. We certainly believe it has potential, but the market featuring Passoa is still quite small. In the mean time – make yourself a Porn Star Martini as listed on Passoa’s website.

The Porn Star Martini

1.6 oz

Vodka

1.6 oz

Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur

0.4 oz

Vanilla Simple Syrup

0.4 oz

Lime Juice

1.5 oz

Sparkling Wine (Garnish – Optional)

Combine all ingredients in shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a coupe. Serve with a shot glass of prosecco or champagne on the side.

This drink – in fair warning – is quite sweet. The play between the martini itself and the wine is really good – and you wouldn’t be faulted if you combine them.

The Final Word: Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur

Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur is a cool option to add to a full bar. Do you need it? Probably not. But for someone looking for something different, Passoa is a great choice to mix it up.

Other Takes on Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur

Normally I’d put an outbound link here. However, I went back 9 pages on google and didn’t find one. You’ll just have to trust us – or send in your own take!

Cocktails Featuring Passoa:

Yeah Baby! - A Porn Star Martini Inspired Cocktail — Yeah Baby!

Raw Tasting Notes:

Nick: A charming watermelon pink hue. The nose is loaded with sweet passion fruit and hints of candy watermelon with hints of citrus. The palate is light and bright, with plenty of passion fruit and sweetness coming through. There are floral hints and other touches of tropical elements / citrus. The finish has a touch of liquor too – simpler to vodka.

Ann Marie: Smells like passion fruit. As though it’s juice – there’s a sweetness coming from the nose. Passion Fruit comes through on the palate but with orange. Slight note of alcohol on the finish.