Happy Hour Tuesday: Amerouge

Happy Hour Tuedsay!

Italy marries Brazil in this week’s cocktail called Amerouge, which features among its ingredients Campari bitter -which at this point we all know what it is, right?- and Cachaça, a distilled spirit made from sugarcane. Cachaça originated in Portugal where it was made up until the 16th century when its production moved to Brazil. Similar to rum, cachaça can be unaged or aged, and today it’s most known in countries outside of Brazil as one of the main ingredients for Caipirinha.
Sweet, smoky, with hints of fruit and spices, cachaça is the yang to the Campari yin: together they balance each other in a bittersweet symphony of smooth, citrusy blend.

Orange juice, mango and a splash of Rometti limoncello contribute to make Amerouge the perfect, exotic aperitif that couldn’t open up our Spring 2014 Happy Hour Tuesday series in any fresher way. Consume preferably ice cold and in company of some good friends.

Ingredients:
1 1⁄2 oz Cachaça
1 oz Campari
1 1⁄2 oz Orange Juice
1 1⁄2 oz Mango Juice
1/2 oz Rometti Limoncello
1/2 Fresh Lemon Juice
3 oz Tonic Water

Mix juices, Rometti Limoncello and cachaça in a shaker with some ice cubes. Shake well until chilled and pour over a glass with some crushed ice. Add Campari, stir gently. Fill up with Tonic Water and add a slice of orange to garnish.

~Enjoy!

Happy Hour Tuesday: Limoncello Caipirinha

Happy Hour Tuesday!

They invented the samba, the bossa nova, they have one of the best soccer team and won the World Cup five times, and they get credit for having come up with a distinguishable, sweet, delicious drink called Caipirinha. Yes, this week we are celebrating Brazil’s national cocktail made with sugar cane rum (called cachaça, the distillation of sugarcane juice after having fermented, very popular in Brazil), sugar and lime. There are so many versions of Caipirinha out there – kiwifruit, passion fruit, strawberry- so we made our own, Limoncello Caipirinha.

The origins of Caipirinha are to be found in Madeira, Portugal, where sugar cane was one of the main economical resources. Eventually the Portuguese had to look for some more land to grow it, and that’s how the ancestor of cachaça, called aguardente, was exported to Brazil. The word Caipirinha, probably because of the origins of this drink, means “someone from the countryside”.

Thanks to the availability of Brazilian cachaça today Caipirinha has expanded all over the world: as a matter of fact you might have heard of Caipiroska (made with vodka instead of cachaça), CaipirItaly (with Campari instead of cachaça), Caipirissima (with rum instead of cachaça) and Caipisake (with sake instead of cachaça).

Limoncello Caipirinha adds a splash of Rometti Limoncello to this delicious and refreshing drink. Just give it a taste, and you will be hooked!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 fl.oz Cachaça
Rometti Limoncello to taste
1 tsp White sugar
1 cup ice cubes
1/2 Lime cut in cubes
Lime wedge or lemon wedge to garnish

Muddle lime with sugar in an old fashioned glass. Fill the glass with ice cubes. Pour the cachaça and the Rometti Limoncello and stir. Garnish with a lemon or lime wedge.

~ENJOY!