This week I’m putting my obsession with watching Stranger Things (can we talk about that show at a later date? I mean, DAMN) and Gilmore Girls on the back burner for the XXXI Olympiad in Rio. I’m trying not to think about the disgusting lake water and uninhabitable athlete villages and instead focus on all the amazing stories of trials and tribulations that suck me in and make me cry. Oh, and also the level of athleticism is ridiculous. Fun fact: did you know Usain Bolt has never run a mile? Like, never? It’s too “far”.  So essentially I am a better runner than Usain Bolt.

Tonight we are going to a get together with friends to watch the opening ceremonies. Just as I was about to text my friend and ask if we should make Caipirinhas, she texted me first and asked the same thing. So yeah, it’s happening. Hashtag great minds think alike. You should also know it’s pronounced Kai-Pee-Reen-Ya. I have been pronouncing it all wrong in my head all these years.

This traditional Brazilian cocktail is reminiscent of a daiquiri, but the limes are muddled at the bottom of the glass and kept in. It uses a traditional Brazilian rum made from the fermented juice of sugarcane (rather than molasses as in the most other rums).

If you want to make your own at home, here’s the recipe.

CAIPIRINHA

2 fl. oz. Cachaça (pronounced Ka-Shah-Suh, like a woman’s beautiful exotic first name)
Half a lime, quartered
2 tsp. Sugar (preferably raw or turbinado sugar) or .5 fl. oz. simple syrup (click to learn how to make your own.)

Add lime wedges and sugar to a rocks glass. With a muddler (or the end of a wooden spoon if you’re simple folk like me) press down and crush the limes to release the juice and the oils from the peel. Add ice, then cachaça and stir the drink. Add more ice if desired.

Viva! Saúde! 

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