Tropical Caipirinha
A fruity and sour cachaça cocktail ∙ Muddle ∙ 3 min ∙ 19.7% ABV ∙
The Tropical Caipirinha is a muddled cachaça cocktail with lime, sugar, coconut rum liqueur, and pineapple juice, served over crushed ice in a Collins glass.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Cut half a Fresh lime into wedges and drop into the glass
- Add Powdered sugar 3 bsp (or 15 ml sugar syrup) and muddle
- Add Cachaça 60 ml, Coconut rum liqueur 15 ml and Pineapple juice 25 ml, and stir until the sugar dissolves
- Fill the glass with crushed ice and stir
- Top with more crushed ice and serve with a stirrer
Tips
- Muddle the lime and sugar just enough to press out the juice; grinding the peel releases bitter oils.
History
The Tropical Caipirinha adds pineapple juice and coconut rum liqueur to the cachaça, lime, and sugar of the Caipirinha, giving it a sweeter, fruitier profile than the citrus-forward original. It belongs to the broad family of fruit-based caipirinha variants, known in Brazil as caipifruta, in which the classic lime is combined with or replaced by other fruits such as pineapple, passion fruit, or mango.
The Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, generally traced to the interior of São Paulo state, though its precise inventor remains disputed.
FAQ
What is a Tropical Caipirinha made of?
Half a fresh lime muddled with 3 barspoons of powdered sugar, then 60 ml cachaça, 15 ml coconut rum liqueur and 25 ml pineapple juice over crushed ice. A classic Caipirinha is just lime, sugar and cachaça; the coconut rum liqueur and pineapple juice make this one tropical.
What does a Tropical Caipirinha taste like?
Tart and sweet, with a tropical edge. The lime brings sharp acidity, the cachaça a grassy, funky note, and the pineapple juice and coconut rum liqueur add fruit and a hint of coconut. At about 20% ABV, it drinks lighter and fruitier than a traditional Caipirinha.
