The Caipirinha was one of the first cocktails that I ever got serious with. I was first introduced to the Caipirinha during a visit to Brazil in 2005 (where else?). I have tried different ratios of lime juice and sugar to the cachaça and have finally settled on the following recipe. I generally reduce the sugar by a third for those who like their Caipirinhas a little less sugary. I prefer to have some sugar left undissolved in the glass which I can suck up through the straw. In many cases when you order Caipirinhas in bars, I find they often use less lime juice. I think a full lime brings out the best of the Caipirinha.

This cocktail is built in the glass, preferably a Caipirinha glass (or double old fashioned glass would also suffice). Cut the lime into quarters, then cut each quarter into 3 roughly equally sized pieces and toss into the glass. Cover the lime pieces with the sugar and muddle the sugar into the lime. Do not over do the muddling, otherwise the lime juice may become slightly bitter. Fill the glass with crushed ice and then add the cachaça over the ice. Insert a cocktail spool, which is a spoon with a built-in straw. Serve with a smile.
As an alternative to using cachaça, I have also tried using rhum agricole from the French Caribbean islands (Guadeloupe and Martinique) with great effect. Maybe because rhum agricole is made from sugar cane juice rather then from molasses as other rum types are. Since this version of the Caipirinha uses rhum agricole from the Caribbean, I initially called it the Caipirinha Caribe, but later corrupting it to the Caribinha.

Made exactly the same way as the traditional Caipirinha described above, replacing the cachaça with rhum agricole. I found using a rhum agricole with 50% ABV* produces the best results.
*ABV – Alcohol By Volume