Freshly made strawberry syrup. Spicy ginger beer. A good squeeze of lime juice. And don’t forget the cachaca! It all adds up to a cold, refreshing, fizzy cocktail. This is a strawberry caipirinha cocktail you will be sipping all summer long!
Recently I was at the liquor store picking up a few bottles of wine and they had a display on cachaca, along with some samples. Score! 🙂 Anyway, I got chatting with the wonderful Brazilian woman who was there as representative for the brand. She explained to me that cachaca is the national spirit of Brazil and caipirinhas are their national cocktail. The samples she had there were the classic lime caipirinha – very refreshing and simple – and I knew I could come up with tasty twist of my own. So of course I bought some!
How could I not?
A new to me drink which is already well beloved by millions of Brazilians and that would be fun for recipe development? Sounds perfect to me!
And I got a free muddler as part of the promotion. Double score. 🙂 Hey, I didn’t have one so I was pretty pleased.
Not sure what cachaca is? Check out this Complete Guide to Cachaca!
Once I had the cachaca in the house, I needed to think about what to do with it.
Well, first I pulled out some limes and made myself and my husband a classic caipirinha. It’s best to start with the basics and go on from there! Also, I find that thinking about cocktails works best with a representative sample of the drink in hand.
Am I right?
Once we had a drink in hand, then we started to brainstorm. What flavors. What fruits. How to mix it up a bit. We came up with a bunch of ideas, so I wouldn’t be surprised if another caipirinha showed up here sooner or later, and I decided to start with a strawberry caipirinha. I already have an awesome Strawberry Syrup which I’ve used in drinks like my Chocolate Covered Strawberry Martini and my Strawberry Vodka Collins, and I knew it would be great here too!
So I made a new batch of strawberry syrup and mixed up a couple of drinks. Which were tasty, but not quite there! They needed something else.
I considered mint and basil as flavors, since they are both popular additions to caipirinha cocktails. (Basil especially with strawberry.) However, thanks to some ginger beer in my fridge, I decided on a different direction. Once I poured some ginger beer over the top, I knew I had it! This was the strawberry caipirinha cocktail I was looking for and I hope the one you were too. 🙂
Right now I bet you’re wondering, where do I find cachaca?? It’s not all that popular here in the US yet and you’re not going to find a big section in the liquor store devoted to it. In fact, you’re going to have to search a bit.
When looking for cachaca, you would probably have the best chance in a larger, well stocked, liquor store. And then go over to the rum display. If you are lucky you will find a bottle (or two) of cachaca next to the rum. If you’re not lucky, ask for it. Maybe they have some and you just didn’t see it! (If they don’t, at least they’ll know people are looking for it.) When you do find it, grab that bottle, bring it right on up to the counter, and bring it home to make some yummy strawberry caipirinhas!
– Happy Drinking, Annemarie
Strawberry Ginger Caipirinha Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 2 oz strawberry syrup
- 3 oz cachaca, or white rum
- 4 oz ginger beer
- ice
Instructions
- Add lime, strawberry syrup, and cachaca (or rum) to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Divide between two glasses, each filled half way with ice. Top with ginger beer.
Notes
- Syrup recipe: For the strawberry syrup, use this recipe: Strawberry Vanilla Bean Syrup.
- Strawberry Caipirinha for a crowd: The syrup recipe makes 12 oz of strawberry syrup, enough for 12 drinks in total. You will need 6 limes, 18 oz of
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says
With summer grilling season and backyard parties just around the corner, this would be perfect for entertaining. Love the photos…looks totally delicious.
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m making this for Mother’s Day since I think it will be a hit with the family.
Tara says
Oh wow! Such a refreshing summer cocktail. I have yet to come across cachaca, but will definitely keep an eye out.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Check near the rum. That is where I’ve been finding it.
Kim @ Three Olives Branch says
How yummy! Love this idea, ginger has been one of my favorite drink ingredients lately. Looks perfect for these warmer months coming up!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! The ginger does make it very refreshing.
Bintu - Recipes From A Pantry says
Love the ginger beer in here giving the extra spice. I could drink this now
justalittlebitofbacon says
The ginger beer gives it such a great flavor.
Debra C. says
That looks just delightful, what a perfect drink for spring! Cheers!!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you! 🙂