Learn to Drink Like A Brazilian

With the 2016 Olympics heading to Brazil, we Americans  will have a few years to get accustomed to drinking a Caipirinha, the popular and admittedly nearly lethal drink of Brazil.  The Caipirinha is Brazil's national drink and is made with Cachaça, sugar, muddled limes and ice.  Obviously, variations exist with the use or addition of other fruits but the Cachaça is the constant. Cachaça, is distilled from sugar cane and aged in oak or other casks for years.  The sugar cane is fermented and distilled then, of course, aged. Cachaça, used for the Caipirinha is generally raw in that it is not aged or aged for a short period of time. Hints of the Mojito sans the mint come to mind, probably due to the related bloodlines of rum, molasses boiled from sugar cane and Cachaça, made from sugar cane.  As we get closer to 2016 I expect to see more more establishments offering up this superb cocktail.  Although drinking responsibly should be everyone's goal I suggest that more than one of these is not being responsible.  It seems that these have the habit of making the face go numb then sabotaging good judgment.