A family business
Cachaça is a liquor produced from sugarcane in Brazil. Shutterstock Like rum, cachaça has two varieties: unaged, known as "branca" (white) or "prata" (silver), and aged, known as "amarela" (yellow) or "ouro" (gold). The former is usually bottled immediately after distillation and, as a result, tends to be cheaper. The Planalto Farm, however, focuses on the aged variety and has used the same fermentation and distilling process for more than a century. "The tradition of cachaça in the state of São Paulo -- I think a lot of it came from our family," says Carlos. His great-grandfather arrived in Brazil from Italy in 1888, and he was an early producer of cachaça. "We taught a lot of people to make cachaça," he says. "A lot of people learned from us because at the time there weren't any distilleries in the region. Ours was the first, we were pioneers." The cachaça made here is aged from one to five years in large wooden barrels that have been in the family for nine decades. The barrels don't give off any flavor, explains Carlos, because they are so old, and so the spirit is able to rest without its taste being changed. But the barrels do soften the acidity of the cachaça, says Pedro. "For those who like a good cachaça, you have to use aged barrels so they don't give off the flavor of the wood," Carlos says. Currently, the Valentes use a homemade bottling machine and make the labels by hand. But they're bringing the distillery up to date and are waiting on a new labeling machine to arrive. It will print new, redesigned labels that they'll use to sell their spirit abroad. The label is going to be more modern, says Carlos, "with the history of our cachaça, explaining how it has been made." Good quality cachaça can be enjoyed neat, but most commonly the spirit is used to make caipirinha cocktails. Planalto Farm is a family-run business in the state of São Paulo. CNN Made with muddled lime and sugar, crushed ice and cachaça, and served in a short glass, the caipirinha can be found almost all over the world. Carlos, however, likes to stick to tradition. "For the older generations like my father, it's a sip before lunch, a sip before dinner, to spark your appetite. "No lime, no sugar, not a caipirinha in other words, to savor it. Not to say that it isn't good in a caipirinha ... with our traditional Galician limes, it makes an excellent caipirinha. But the essence of cachaça is to drink it pure." According to figures from 2015, around 1.8 billion liters were produced in just one year, with 15 million of those exported worldwide. It's estimated most producers are informal microdistilleries. In 2012, UK drinks group Diageo bought Ypióca, the country's third largest producer, based in the northeastern state of Ceará, with hopes of taking the spirit worldwide. Exports in 2016 amounted to around 8.7 million liters, compared with Mexico's 196 million liters of tequila in the same year. Despite Diageo's ambitions, the drinks export industry remains dominated by beer, and so worldwide consumers may have to wait a little longer for cachaça to become as readily available as tequila. In the meantime, Brazilians will continue to enjoy their country's staple spirit. It wasn't always a drink for everyone, but it has gained a lot of popularity in the past 20 years or so, Carlos says. "All Brazilians like cachaça today," says Carlos. "It has won its place."DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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