Tranquil Insanity

Cahaca is a Brazilian spirit made from fermented sugar cane juice. It is not quite the same as rum which is usually made from molasses a by product of sugar. Like rum and tequilla it has two forms a white young version, and an aged golden form.

It has been on my to try list for years, and years mostly because it isn’t as easy to get hold of as rum or vodka. Your lucky to find one kind in a supermarket and i have never seen more than one brand.

A quick trip to trusty Waitrose and we found a rather fine looking bottle.

This cachaca is made by  Velho Barreiro it claims to have been made since 1873 and is double filtered, it is the younger clear version.

It is an clear spirit with a tinge, coming in at 39% ABV.

The label reads Velho Barreiro is one of the most appreciated cachacas in Brazil, because of it’s delicate aromas, due to the very careful way of double distillation.

Sounds good so far..

We open the bottle, it has one of those strange dispensing tops under the lid, which appear to be designed to keep a Q from her drink. It takes me three goes to get it out of the bottle and into the glass.

Smells of very slightly burnt sugar, no hint of rum white or otherwise, which since it is so often lumped in with rum i find surprising.

Tastes very sweet, like a really rough drambubie, freshness at the beginning of the sip, almost grassy, swilling brings out hints of heather, and maybe a touch of lilac. There is an after taste I can’t quite name. It has fire on the way down and spreads warmth outwards.

It is not possible to drink a lot of this neat, it grates after a couple of glasses. Reading the label suggests we mix it with coconut. As it happens Havana Club gold and kara is one of my most favourite drinks. We mix a small glass each., take a gulp, gag and pour the rest down the sink (yes it was that bad). Luckily we had some cranberry in the cupboard so switch to mixing it with cranberry and soda. Still not great but we can at least drink it.

The drunk. Feeling quite warm and tipsy about 100ml in, somehow after next glass we reverted to sober, at least in mind, body still felt it was processing alcohol but the drunk feeling had well and truly dissipated. Disappointing to say the least. At bedtime we had drunk half the 70cl bottle. On the plus side no cats where subjected to crisps

I wouldn’t choose to drink this again, and having tried it have no idea how this could ever be confused with rum. I am still curious as to how ageing affects the liquor and will be on the lookout for the  gold version.

Having recovered recently from being ill, having as it turns out been ill for sometime, I am reacquainting myself with one of my loves alcohol. Each month I’m going to drink something new and write about here if I remember. This month the lucky Liquor is Jinro 25.

Jinro 25 claims to be the best selling Soju brand. What is Soju? A distilled beverage made and drunk across its native  Korea. Wikipedia claims it to be ‘not unlike vodka’ in which case we will get on famously.

Traditionally it is rice based, though modern manufacturing processes see the addition of sweet potato, potato  wheat, barley and tapioca. It can range from 16%-45% ABV. Soju apparently means ‘burned liquor’ and it has been distilled since the 13th century.

The blurb on the bottle says it is ‘an amalgamation of a selection of the finest natural ingredients  barley, rice, sweet potato, tapioca and water, distilled and then filtered through bamboo charcoal. Remarkable for its sweetness and balance, its refined nose and silky taste. Can be drunk on its own or as a cocktails, an aperitif or with food. 25% ABV

We opted for drinking this neat. Very slight tinge of colour to the liquid. Smells a bit like vodka, in particular bison grass vodka.

It is smooth, not so sure about the silky bit. Sweetness is present, but you miss it if you knock it back. Rolling the liquid round your mouth brings it out along with some other flavours. Though it is not a caramel type of sweetness, more a tongue on a spoon of sugar. Doesn’t have the warmth/burn of other spirits.

Soju drunkenness creeps up on you. There are two of us making our way through the bottle, one of us drinks a third to a half more than the other.

Drunk arrived when there is about 200ml left in the bottle.

At bottle empty we are eating crisps (and as I discovered a few days later, putting crisps on the cats back). The drunk is mellow with a eucalyptus behind the eyes feeling, which is most bizarre. There is a definite lightness in the eyes. Like a breeze. But no energy in the body it is a bit like being stoned, the mind is strong but the body is weak.

The after effects suggest it is not as clean a spirit as vodka nor as agreeable as rum. Bit of headache, couldn’t face any other spirits the next night, but a couple of bottles of wine went down a treat.

Overall it was an interesting experience but not one we will be repeating again in a hurry. Maybe if we can find an all rice Soju we would give that a go, being as we are fans of Sake, Jinro 25 though is a no.