Mojitos. So yesterday.

Caipirinhas are where it's at.

Well, okay. Mojitos are still great, but a caipirinha (pronounced kye-per-EEN-yah) packs a punch like nothing else. This cocktail made from limes, sugar and cachaça is relatively new to the bar scene. In fact, I doubt I could walk into just any bar in my neighborhood and order one.

Cachaça (pronounced ka-CHA-sa) is fermented and distilled sugar cane juice and it's produced in Brazil. ("Have you been to Bahia, my friend?")

The cachaças we get here in the States usually consist of two mass produced brands. Cachaça 51 and Pitú. Both of which are perfectly fine for making a caipirinha, but I wouldn't dare sip them. They're pretty bitey.

Which brings me to my next point. I'm not sure even native Brazillians sip the stuff. I recently read an article in The New York Times Dining and Wine section about how folks in the U.S. are increasingly interested in cachaça. In fact, distilleries in Brazil are producing cachaças aged in cherry wood and French oak casks. Yeah, I'd sip those.

So next time you're out try one.