Leblon Cachaca

Leblon is a cachaça, Brazil's sugarcane spirit, bottled at 40% ABV and made in Minas Gerais. Unlike most rum, which is distilled from molasses, cachaça is distilled from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice. That puts it closer to a rhum agricole in spirit, and it shows in the glass. Expect a grassy, vegetal nose with ripe tropical fruit and a clean sugarcane sweetness. The producer says it was aged in French oak casks, and styles like this usually pick up a light touch of vanilla and soft wood spice from that time, without the heavy caramel of a dark rum. On its own, a spirit of this type sips better than its mixing reputation suggests. Pour about an ounce and a half into a small tulip glass or a Glencairn at cool room temperature, with no ice. That lets the cane character and the oak come through. If you prefer it chilled, a single large cube in a rocks glass takes the edge off the alcohol without muting the fruit. Its main job is the caipirinha, the national cocktail of Brazil. Muddle half a lime cut into wedges with two teaspoons of sugar in a rocks glass, add two ounces of cachaça, then fill the glass with crushed ice and stir. The lime oil and the grassy spirit are meant to go together. The same profile works in other rum-style drinks. In a Daiquiri, cachaça gives a more vegetal, drier result than a white rum. In a Mojito, the cane notes sit well alongside mint. A Dark 'n' Stormy made with cachaça and a spicy ginger beer is a good variation if you want something less molasses-heavy than the usual version. Because the spirit is lightly oaked, it also works in a Rum Old Fashioned. Stir it with a sugar cube or a bar spoon of demerara syrup and a few dashes of aromatic bitters, and serve it over a large cube with an orange peel. It would be a poor fit for a Piña Colada, since the grassy edge can compete with coconut and pineapple. For food, cachaça-based drinks go naturally with grilled meats, fried seafood, black beans and rice, and salty snacks like cheese bread or cured sausage. The acidity of a caipirinha cuts through rich or fatty dishes.