Spirits

Cachaça

Cachaça is Brazil's cane spirit, distilled from fermented fresh sugar cane juice instead of molasses, which gives it a grassy, green taste. Brazil’s decree, as quoted in the US rule 78 FR 12591, reserves the name for cane spirit made in Brazil at 38 to 48% ABV with up to six grams of sugar per litre. It is the base of the Caipirinha; our two recipes assume 40%.

Quick Facts

ABV40% ABVBrazil’s definition, quoted in the US rule 78 FR 12591, sets 38 to 48%.

Legal categorySpiritBrazil’s definition, quoted in US rule 78 FR 12591: made in Brazil, 38 to 48%

OriginBrazil

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

SeasonYear-round (especially popular in warm weather)

Our keeping timeIndefinitely unopened. Once opened, years if kept sealed and upright out of the light, though the aroma fades slowly.

Storage

Store upright in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight. Once opened, keep sealed tightly; in our experience the flavour stays stable for years.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Cachaça

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

Fresh sugarcaneGrassGreen vegetalLight tropical fruit

Tasting Notes

Bright and fresh with pronounced grassy sugarcane notes, subtle fruitiness, and a dry, slightly earthy finish. Cleaner and more aromatic than molasses-based spirits.

Brazilian law defines it by place, cane juice and strength

Cachaça is the name Brazilian law reserves for cane spirit made in Brazil, distilled from fermented sugar cane juice and bottled at 38 to 48% ABV. It may contain up to six grams of sugar per litre; between six and thirty grams it has to be called cachaça adoçada. An aged cachaça, envelhecida, must be at least half cane spirit aged for a year or more.

Fresh juice spoils within hours, so it is fermented as soon as it is pressed. That is where the green, grassy taste comes from, and it is what separates cachaça from rum made from molasses.

Its nearest relative is rhum agricole

Cachaça against the spirits it is confused with. Cachaça: Brazil’s definition as quoted in the US rule 78 FR 12591; rhum agricole and white rum: the retained Regulation (EC) 110/2008, Annex II.

Made from

Cachaça: Fresh cane juice
Rhum agricole: Fresh cane juice
White rum: Mostly molasses

Where

Cachaça: Brazil only
Rhum agricole: French Caribbean, Madeira
White rum: Anywhere

Strength

Cachaça: 38 to 48%
Rhum agricole: 37.5% floor, as rum
White rum: 37.5% floor

Sugar

Cachaça: Up to 6g/L, more if labelled sweetened
Rhum agricole: Not stated on the label
White rum: Not stated on the label

Taste

Cachaça: Grassy, green, earthy
Rhum agricole: Grassy, drier and sharper
White rum: Clean cane sugar

	Cachaça	Rhum agricole	White rum
Made from	Fresh cane juice	Fresh cane juice	Mostly molasses
Where	Brazil only	French Caribbean, Madeira	Anywhere
Strength	38 to 48%	37.5% floor, as rum	37.5% floor
Sugar	Up to 6g/L, more if labelled sweetened	Not stated on the label	Not stated on the label
Taste	Grassy, green, earthy	Grassy, drier and sharper	Clean cane sugar

A rhum agricole blanc is the closest swap and makes a drier, sharper drink. A clean white rum makes a softer one, which loses the grassiness the drink is built on.

In the Caipirinha the sugar does two jobs

The IBA specification of the Caipirinha is cachaça, lime and sugar, and nothing else. Ours cuts one lime into eight pieces, adds four teaspoons of caster sugar and muddles them for 20 to 30 seconds before crushed ice and 60ml of cachaça go in. Under the muddler the sugar grains scour the lime skin, so the drink takes up oil from the zest as well as juice.

The Rabo de Galo takes the same 60ml into a stirred drink with sweet vermouth (20ml) and Cynar (15ml), where the cane's green edge meets the bitter artichoke liqueur.

Using it

Using Cachaça

Usage

Both of our cachaça recipes take 60ml: muddled lime and caster sugar under crushed ice in the Caipirinha, and stirred with sweet vermouth and Cynar in the Rabo de Galo. Use an unaged bottle, sold as branca or prata, unless a recipe says otherwise.

Pro Tip

Build the Caipirinha in the glass you serve it in and add the cachaça after the crushed ice. Stirring briefly from the bottom mixes the sugar through without bruising the lime a second time.

Top Tips

For a Caipirinha, buy an unaged cachaça, labelled branca or prata. Wood-aged bottles add flavours that fight the lime.
Press the lime rather than grinding the pith. Bitter pith is the usual reason a Caipirinha tastes harsh.
Use caster sugar, not syrup, in the Caipirinha. The grains help pull oil from the lime peel as you muddle.
A white rum makes a different, softer drink. Keep the cachaça for the drinks that name it.

Possible Substitutions

Rhum Agricole: A blanc: also cane juice, drier and sharper
White Rum: A clean, dry one only; less grassy

Production Method

Produced by fermenting fresh-pressed sugarcane juice and distilling it, often in pot stills. Unlike rum, which is usually made from molasses, cachaça retains the fresh vegetal character of raw cane.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is cachaça?

Brazil's national spirit: a cane spirit distilled from fermented fresh sugar cane juice. Brazil’s decree, as quoted in the US rule 78 FR 12591, reserves the name for cane spirit made in Brazil at 38 to 48% ABV, with up to six grams of sugar per litre. It tastes greener and grassier than most rum, and it is the base of the Caipirinha.

Does cachaça go bad?

No. In our experience an opened bottle at 38% or more stays sound for years. What fades is the fresh cane aroma, slowly, in a bottle left half full. Keep the cap on and the bottle out of direct light; in our experience an opened bottle is at its brightest in the first year or so.

What is cachaça made of?

Sugar cane juice, pressed from the cane, fermented and distilled. Brazil’s definition, as quoted in the US rule 78 FR 12591, names nothing else, allows up to six grams of sugar per litre, and calls a cachaça with six to thirty grams sweetened cachaça, cachaça adoçada.

What does cachaça taste like?

Unaged cachaça tastes of fresh-cut cane and grass, with green fruit and an earthy, sometimes slightly funky edge. It is drier and greener than a white rum made from molasses. Aged cachaça takes on the wood it rested in, which can be oak or one of several Brazilian timbers.

Is cachaça a rum?

Not in Brazil, where the name belongs to Brazilian cane spirit, but in the United States it is: the 2013 rule 78 FR 12591 lists cachaça as a type of rum and a distinctive product of Brazil. Both come from sugar cane, and rhum agricole, also from cane juice, is its closest relative. In a recipe, a white rum is not a straight swap.

How long does cachaça last once opened?

Years, if sealed and stored away from heat and light. It will not spoil, but the grassy top notes are the first thing to go in a bottle with a lot of air in it. A half-empty bottle that has sat for several years will make a flatter Caipirinha than a fresh one.

How do you pronounce cachaça?

Ka-SHAH-sa. The cedilla under the second c makes it a soft s sound, so it is never ka-SHACK-a. The stress falls on the middle syllable, and the final a is short.

Sources.

Correct as of 16 October 2026.

GovInfo, “Amendment to the Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits (Cachaça), 78 FR 12591, 25 February 2013”.
legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex II (as retained in UK law)”.
IBA, “Caipirinha”.

From the Guides

Where cachaça sits beside rum How to muddle lime for a Caipirinha How cachaça relates to rum

Make something

Made with Cachaça

Featured In These Cocktails

Caipirinha Rabo de Galo

Often Used With

Updated 16 October 2026

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