Chillin' like a Brazilian

Cachaça brightens any day

By CHRISTINE LIU

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When the going gets gloomy, drown that frown with sips of the sunnier side. Brazil's national spirit, cachaça, totes fits the bill. A distillation of fermented fresh sugarcane juice, it's the sweeter, more brazen cousin to rum. "It's a completely unfamiliar spirit to most people," says Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, assistant bar manager at Eastern Standard. "The only way that most people have tried it is via the caipirinha, which is a great drink if you like that fiery component to it." Two cachaças available locally, Leblon and Beija, go head to head in an impromptu taste test with observations by Dig staffers. "I think both of these are made very well; they shoot for different styles," Schlesinger-Guidelli offers. His two cents: Leblon, with cachaça's characteristic intensity, as "more normative" and Beija as "approachable" and "easily drinkable." For us, "easily" is, of course, ultimately relative. Let the pouring commence.

METHOD

Leblon: The hand-harvested sugarcane is juiced in Brazil, distilled after fifteen hours post-fermentation and aged for two months in vintage cognac casks in France.

Beija: Recently launched in the Boston market, "the world's first Virgin cane rum" prides itself on hand-harvested, small-batch production, with distillation occurring very soon after juicing the sugarcane.

LOOKS

Leblon: Bold, handsome presentation. Slight greenish tint to the spirit. 40 percent alcohol by volume.

Beija: Frosted bottle with sinuous silhouette logo. Clear spirit. 40 percent alcohol by volume.

SMELL

Leblon: "strong, sweet"; "astringent, evaporative"; "if you can get past the smell, it's not so bad"

Beija: "fruitier nose"; "smells like sake"; "lot less burn"

TASTE

Leblon: "hits you in the back of the throat, warms on the way down, sizzles in the stomach"; "tastes like a vodka"; "grassy"

Beija: "smoky, reminiscent of peat"; "sweeter up front on the tongue, less boozy"; "not an oily mouthfeel, but there's a something"; "seems a bit more crafted"

VERDICT

Leblon: A potent, sprightly addition to any cocktail, it's worth checking out, but don't sniff too intensively if you care at all about vulnerable nasal cavities. Fierce.

Beija: A complex, subtle spirit that will make a fine mixed drink, and feasibly palatable as a naked sip.

[liveloveleblon.com, beija.net]