With 120 fruits native to its rainforest, there’s no wonder Brazilians make a mean cocktail. If watching the Olympics this month makes you pine for tropical climes, mix yourself a jug of this fabulously kitsch cocktail (palm trees essential) and the combination of rum, cachaça, strawberries and coconut will instantly transport you from kitchen to Copacabana beach.
Coco Cabana
75ml cachaça
75ml Malibu
50ml coconut cream
50ml lemon juice
50ml simple sugar syrup
90ml pineapple juice
180ml coconut water
75ml strawberry purée ice cubes
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
Pour all the ingredients except the orange and lemon slices into a large jug and stir well.
Fill with ice and stir again.
Top with lemon and orange slices.
Pronounced ka-sha-sa, cachaça is the national drink of Brazil and appears in many of its cocktails. Like rum, it’s a sugar cane spirit, but distilled directly from fermented sugar cane juice rather than from the molasses. It’s now possible to find simple brands such as Sagatiba in larger supermarkets or specialist spirit shops. If you’re at loss or don’t like the taste (some people find it too rough or strong), you can substitute vodka or rum. Oh and Brazilians do really run their cars on it sometimes – if you’re ever crossing the road and notice a waft of sweetness in the air, that’s the ethanol from the sugar cane. Not one to try at home.
Recipe from Carnival! By David Ponte, Lizzy Barber and Jamie Barber (Quadrille)
Photography by Martin Poole
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