Belo Horizonte, Brazil is considered the epicenter of cocktail innovation using cachaça, a Brazilian spirit distilled from sugarcane. The city has over 18,600 bars and restaurants, more than Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, serving everything from simple caipirinha cocktails to elaborate new inventions. A group of pioneering bartenders are driving the craft cocktail scene by creating drinks that showcase cachaça's versatility beyond just the traditional caipirinha. They believe this will help further popularize cachaça globally. The document provides several examples of innovative cachaça cocktails created by bartenders in Belo Horizonte and recommends some of the top cocktail bars to find these
3. 10
C
achaça brands like Leblon,
Sagatiba and Boca Loca have
capitalized on the glamour of
Rio de Janeiro, with its supermodels,
fashion scene, geology and role as
host for global entertainment and
sporting events (including the annual
Rock in Rio Music Festival and the
2016 Summer Olympic Games). But if
you want to get to the source of how
bartenders work with the spirit and
how their followers enjoy drinking it,
consider a visit to Belo Horizonte, 275
miles to the north. The city, home to
18,600 bars and restaurants (more
than Rio and business center Sao
Paulo), is located in the state of Minas
Gerais, where most of the production of
cachaça takes place.
Much of the cocktail action can be
found in bars lining the streets of the
trendy Savassi and Lourdes neigh-
borhoods, and at several spots on
the second floor of the bohemian, art
gallery-like Edifício Maleta (the city’s
former “grand hotel”) in downtown
Belo Horizonte. Within those bustling
hubs are two types of bars. On one
end of the spectrum, there are casual
cachaçerias that showcase dozens or
hundreds of expressions of the spirit,
either in shots, flights or in caipirinha
cocktails that take full advantage of
Brazil’s bounty of fruit and produce. On
the other, there are fashionable destina-
tion bars generating a buzz through
menus with reinvented variations of the
Negroni, Bloody Mary and Mint Julep, as
well as completely new inventions that
delight even the staunchest cachaça
purist.
A group of trail-blazing bartend-
ers and cocktail consultants based in
Belo Horizonte are driving the second
category of bars. They firmly believe
their emphasis on the spirit’s versatility
will foster cachaça’s next wave of global
popularity. Their collective goal is to
create cocktails that will get word out
to locals and international visitors that
there is more to life than the sweet and
sturdy caipirinha. Tony Harion, who
does double duty as a brand ambas-
sador for Grey Goose and a bar menu
consultant through his company, Mixing
Bar Premium Cocktails, explains why
“BH” is the ultimate place to experience
the past, present and future of local
Brazilian flavor.
“I actually like the fact that at au-
thentic old school cachaça bars, such as
Via Cristina, where you can order a tray
of cachaças to taste the spirit’s range,”
Harion says. “I regularly go to Via
Cristina with friends to sample several
cachaças, sometimes exploring differ-
ent styles of cachaças or new brands.
The cocktails are simple, and you can
really focus on learning about different
types of the spirit.”
Unlike the posh cocktail bars of
New York or London, Harion and fellow
Cachaça,regardedbysome
as a cousin to rum, had its
origins in the early 1500s,
when it is said that a Por-
tuguese colonist brought
the first cuttings of sugar
cane over to Brazil from
Madeira Island. The spirit
is created by distilling sug-
arcaneinpotstills,andlike
many new world spirits,
was initially embraced by
the working classes. How-
ever, in recent decades,
cachaça was transformed
by various distilleries,
which refined the distilling
process, developed sub
categories (aged and non-
aged), and ultimately,
launched it internationally
with great success.
5. 12
consultant Joao Morandi (holding court
at Dub at Edifício Maleta) stress that
the bars that are moving, shaking and
shaping cocktail trends are far more
laid back and welcoming. Although the
best cocktail bars may be a challenge
to find without the insider insight of
Harion, Morandi and their colleagues,
finding them is richly rewarding. The
way the bartenders clearly have a great
time on the job, and connect with their
customers and each other is not just
infectious—it is Brazilian on every
sensory level.
“If a bar or restaurant owner is
serious about being a viable part of
the craft cocktail scene, they need a
very capable person behind the bar to
keep people exited and interested, and
stretch things beyond the caipirinha,”
says Morandi in advising visitors on
how to search out the best cocktail
bars with the best bartenders. “We are
part of a new world for cachaça; we
are broadening the definition of it by
challenging ourselves to design new
inventions that create a buzz around
the world.”
Cachacerias/Basic Bars
Via Cristina
R. Cristina, 1203 - Santo Antônio
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 3296-8343
www.viacristina.com.br
Nine Lounge Bar
R. da Bahia, 1148 – Centro
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 3024-9403
Tize Bar e Butequim
R. Curitiba, 2205 – Centro
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 3337 4374
www.bartize.com.br/
Cocktail Bars
MeetMe at The Yard
Rua Curitiba, 2578 – Lourdes
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 3297 0909
meetmebh.com.br
Jângal
R. Outono, 523 – Cruzeiro
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 3653 8947
jangalbh.com
Gilboa
Rua Pium-Í, 772 – Carmo
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 3646-2433
Dub
Rua da Bahia, 1148 - Lourdes
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 3234-2405
http://dubmaletta.tumblr.com/
Other Points of Interest
Trindade Bar e Restaurant
R. Alvarenga Peixoto, 388 – Lourdes
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 2512-4479
www.trindadebrasil.com.br/
Beautifully crafted caipirinhas are
only the beginning at Trindade,
helmed by Bralzilian culinary televi-
sion personality Fred Trindade. It’s
one of the city’s top dining spots.
Mercado Central
Av. Augusto de Lima, 744 – Centro
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 3274-9434
mercadocentral.com.br
If you’re inspired to practice your
caipirinha-making skills by the
bartenders you meet, or want to
take home some of the small pro-
duction cachacas you tried at Via
Cristina, Mercado Central is where
you should head the morning after.
In addition to many stalls proffering
fresh fruit and herbs, you can find
several cachaça shops with a great
selection.
Cervejaria Bäcker
R. Sra. do Carmo, 220 - Olhos
D’Água
Belo Horizonte
+55 31 3288-2958
www.cervejariabacker.com.br
This cozy brewery features several
excellent beers and ales, including
some aged in cachaça barrels.
ADDRESS BOOKADDRESS BOOK
—elyse glickman
6. 13
Caipi Jângal
Alexandre Gledson, Jângalt
Makes 1 drink
1 ½ oz Leblon Cachaça
2 oz coconut water
8 grapes
Sparkling wine, to top off
1. Muddle grapes in a Boston shaker.
2. Add cachaça and coconut water.
3. Shake and strain into a tall glass filled
with ice.
4. Top up with sparkling wine; garnish with
grapes.
COCKTAILSCOCKTAILS
Ritual Offering
Tiago Santos, MeetMe At The Yards
Makes 1 drink
2 oz Leblon Cachaça
½ oz mango puree
¾ oz grapefruit juice
3 small pieces of celery
Apple slices, for garnish
1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the celery and
add the other ingredients.
2. Shake with ice and serve strained over
fresh ice.
3. Garnish with apple slices.
7. 14
Defy & Default
Tiago Santos, MeetMe At The Yards
Makes 1 drink
1¼ oz Leblon Cachaça
¼ oz beet puree
2 arugula leaves
2 slices lemon peel
¼ oz lima juice (exotic citrus from
Brazil; you can also use key
limes)
1 oz simple syrup
1
⁄3 oz lime juice
1. Shake all ingredients and serve strained
over crushed ice.
Leblon Mule
Tony Harion, The Mixing Bar
Makes 1 drink
2 oz Leblon Cachaça
½ oz lime juice
splash ginger ale
Lime wedge, for garnish
Ginger foam (optional)
1. In a copper mug or rocks glass filled with
ice, add cachaça, lime juice and ginger ale.
2. Stir gently and add the ginger foam.
3. Garnish with a lime wedge and ginger
foam.
Brazil Nut Syrup
9 oz Brazil nuts
1½ cups water
3 cups sugar
½ teaspoon orange flower water
(optional)
½ teaspoon rose water (optional)
1. Put nuts in a plastic bag and break them
up a little using the back of a skillet.
2. In a saucepan, add the nuts, water and
sugar. Boil for five minutes.
3. Strain into a clean bottle, using a
cheesecloth. Refrigerate and use within one
month.
Blyckman´s Stage
Tiago Santos, MeetMe At The Yards
Makes 1 drink
1¾ oz Leblon Cachaça
¾ oz Aperol
2½ oz orange juice
1¼ oz pear juice
½ oz papaya puree
cinnamon stick, for garnish
1. Shake all ingredients; serve strained,
over crushed ice.
2. Garnish with burnt cinnamon stick.
MeetMe Cachaça Bloody Mary
Tiago Santos, MeetMe At The Yards
Makes 1 drink
3 pieces celery
1¾ oz Leblon Cachaça
2 oz tomato juice
1 oz lime juice
1
⁄3 oz simple syrup
½ oz Worcestershire sauce
¼ oz Ardbeg Scotch
2 pinches salt
1 slice ginger
10 drops Tabasco sauce
Charred tomatoes, for garnish
(optional)
1. Muddle the celery and shake all the ingre-
dients with ice.
2. Serve strained over fresh ice.
3. Garnish with celery and charred tomatoes.
Brew & Love
Tony Harion, The Mixing Bar
Makes 1 drink
1½ oz Leblon Cachaça
Top with carbonated cold brew
coffee (or iced coffee)
Orange twist, for garnish
1. Fill a tall grass with ice.
2. Fill with Leblon Cachaça.
3. Top with carbonated cold brew coffee
and garnish with an orange twist.
8. 15
Cachaça Bramble & Tonic
Joao Morandi, DUB
Makes 1 drink
1½ oz Leblon Cachaça
¾ oz lime juice, freshly squeezed
½ oz cardamom simple syrup
splash tonic water
½ oz blackberry syrup, for toppin
Cucumber slice, for garnish
Lemon zest, for garnish
1. Fill a shaker with ice. Add cachaça, lime
juice and cardamom syrup.
2. Shake and strain into a large wine glass
filled with fresh ice.
3. Top with tonic water; drizzle with black-
berry syrup.
4. Garnish with cucumber slice and lemon
zest.
Brazilian Mint Julep
Joao Morandi, DUB
Makes 1 drink
2 oz Maison Leblon Reserva
Especial
¾ oz sugar cane simple syrup
10 mint leaves
3 mint sprigs, for garnish
1. In a metal mug, add 10 mint leaves,
Leblon and sugar cane syrup.
2. Gently muddle all together. Top with
crushed ice. Stir.
3. Top with more crushed ice and garnish
with 3 mint sprigs.
Soul Bossa Nova
Joao Morandi, DUB
Makes 1 drink
1½ oz Leblon Cachaça
¾ oz Martini Bianco
½ oz cardamom syrup
½ oz freshly squeezed lime juice
¾ oz pineapple juice
2 drops flower bitters, for garnish
Lime zest, for garnish
Lemon zest, for garnish
1. Fill a chilled Old Fashioned glass with ice
cubes. Add all liquids.
2. Stir and garnish with flower bitters,
lemon zest and lime zest.
Brazilian Jazz
Alexandre Gledson, aka Gledão, at
Jângal
Makes 1 drink
2 oz Leblon Cachaça
2 oz Cedilla Açaí Liquor
5 oz graviola (soursop) juice
(available at Hispanic and
Asian markets)
3½ oz cupuaçu cream
(a cousin of cacao, available at
Hispanic markets)
1. Add ingredients to a Boston shaker;
shake.
Uai Tai
Tony Harion, The Mixing Bar
Makes 1 drink
2 oz Maison Leblon Reserva
Especial (oak-aged cachaça)
¾ oz lime juice
½ oz orange Curaçao or triple
sec
½ oz Brazil nut syrup (see below)
¼ oz simple syrup
1. Mix all ingredients and shake with ice.
2. Strain over crushed ice
3. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh
mint.
9. 16
2. Strain into to a pre-chilled Old Fashioned
glass full of ice cubes.
3. Garnish with berries or citrus wheel. Serve
with a straw.
Mario Alberto, or
Brazilian Earl Grey
Joao Morandi, DUB
Makes 1 drink
1½ oz Leblon Cachaça
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
1 oz freshly squeezed tangerine
juice
1 oz simple sugar cane syrup
splash mate tea
1. Add ingredients except tea to a shaker
filled with ice cubes.
2. Shake well and strain into new ice in a
large wine glass.
3. Top gently with the mate tea, pouring over
a spoon to create a layered effect.
Apple Bossa
Alexandre Gledson, aka Gledão, at
Jângal
Makes 1 drink
1 oz Grey Goose La Poire
2 oz Leblon Cachaça
3½ oz apple and cinnamon tea
1. Brew tea in advance and pour into a
Boston shaker.
2. Add vodka and cachaça and stir.
3. Pour into a 5 oz teacup or mug and gar-
nish with a cinnamon stick.