Rose Caipirinha

  Fall in love over a glass of this sweet and floral Rose Caipirinha. Scroll down for the recipe.

A Brazilian romance

I fell in love with caipirinhas after a Valentines Day evening spent at a Brazilian restaurant. We sipped caipirinhas all night long and vowed to come back to try every variety they had on the menu. The following year Jon bought me a bottle of 'cachaça' the key ingredient to any good caipirinha! Now we make our own caipirinhas!

What is a caipirinha?

A caipirinha is a cocktail made from cahaça, sugar and lime. It is also Brazil's national cocktail!

What is cachaça?

Cachaça is a spirit made from sugarcane. It's strong but its sweet and pairs beautifully with the zesty lime in the traditional recipe.

The original bottle of cachaça that Jon bought me all those years ago has long been drunk but I still buy the same brand: Abelha Organic Silver Cachaca.

If you can't get your hands on cachaça you can replace it with any other white spirit (think vodka or white rum). Just add a spoon of sugar to take the harsh burn of the alcohol away. Cachaça can be as strong as 48% but the sweet flavour makes it way more drinkable than any other white spirit.

How to make a rose caipirinha

Of course any Valentines cocktail has to include roses. So rather than muddling my cachaça with lime and sugar, I used two shots of rose syrup. A sweet, delicate, floral syrup made from the petals and fruits of the rose plant.

You can buy rose or rose hip syrup in good super markets or failing that, the internet! Even Amazon sells it. If you want to make this Valentines cocktail extra special then you could even make the rose syrup yourself! Fellow food blogger Choclette from Tin and Thyme shows you how on her blog.

As well as using rose syrup I also muddle the cachaça with dried rose buds and petals. You can pick these up in loose leaf tea shops.

Once all the ingredients have been muddled together it's as easy as pouring over some crushed ice and before you know it you have the perfect cocktail for celebrating Valentines Day with your loved one!

The recipe

More cocktail recipes

More Valentines Day recipes

If you're cooking up a feast for your loved one then check out my romantic recipes in the Valentines Day recipe collection.