Happy Hour: Grapefruit Caipirinhas

One of my absolute favorite drinks is the caipirinha!  It's the drink of Brazil, and when I spent the summer there (has it been 4 years since??) it was a staple.  It's a strong drink, but cachaça is such a good liquor (especially when you get a quality one like JP did), that even when you taste a ton of liquor (usually not my style), it doesn't even matter.

Now.  The typical caipirinha is made with limes, but you can really make it with whatever fruit you want.  And if you make it with vodka instead of this Brazilian rum, it's called a caipiroska (fun fact!).  

JP had some delicious smelling grapefruits, so I decided to use those instead of the standard limes.. and it turned out great.

How to make the caipirinhas:

-Cut the grapefruit, and peel off the rind (you can save them in the fridge and use it to zest since they smell so good)

-Cut the grapefruit into quarters, and use one quarter per glass.  Each quarter should be sliced into about thirds to make it easier to smash it in the glass.

-Using a pestle (or in my case, a honey drip, err..) smash the grapefruit in the glass to get some of the juice and pulp out.

-Add about a tablespoon of sugar to the grapefruit, and smash it again to mix (is there a more appropriate bartender term instead of "smash"?? But then again, correct terminology isn't quite my style).

-Pour in about a shot of (chilled is best) cachaça, add some ice cubes (and if you're really fancy, which I'm not.. mix it well with a bartender shaker -- as I've seen done when I order them elsewhere)

So to recap:

In a lowball glass, you'll need
     -a quarter grapefruit
     -1 shot of cachaça
     -ice cubes
     -1 tablespoon of sugar


Smash together, mix well.. and enjoy (a la JP below).

Brazillian Style

I miss Brazil. A lot. I spent 6 weeks there in college volunteering and fell in love with it. Everyone there is so laid back and friendly, the food is amazing, and the drinks were divine. I had the best time, learned a lot, and met great people all while working in the medical field which will soon become my whole life.

The Sartorialist has recently been snapping some great style shots of people in Brazil (specifically Rio, not where I was, but we did travel there), and I adore these looks. It is the essence of the women in Rio -- bright colors and not afraid to show some skin. Just plain gorgeous. Here are my favorites of their latest piece: