#70 Cocktail: Caipirinha

    There are many stories about the caipirinha's origin. The best known is one that begins around 1918, in the state of São Paulo. According to information, the caipirinha as we know it today would have been created from a popular recipe made with lime, garlic and honey, indicated for patients of Spanish flu—and which, today, is still used to cure small colds. As it was quite common to put a little distilled spirits in any home remedy in order to expedite the therapeutic effect, rum was commonly used. "Until one day someone decided to remove the garlic and honey. Then added a few tablespoons sugar to reduce the acidity of lime. The ice came next, to ward off the heat," explains Carlos Lima, executive director of IBRAC (Brazilian Institute of Cachaça).
     The word caipirinha is the diminutive version of the word caipira, which refers to someone from the countryside, being an almost exact equivalent of the American English hillbilly or the Lowland Scots teuchter. The word may be used as either a masculine or a feminine noun, but when referring to this drink it is only feminine (usage of diminutives is common in Brazil). In the Brazilian vocabulary, the word caipirinha is mostly associated with the drink itself rather than the class of person.

3 ounces Cachaça

4-6 lime wedges

1 tablespoon granulated sugar