cheers
KUDOS TO THE CAIPIRINHA
Brazil’s splendidly simple national cocktail BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ
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PHOTO BY DEBBY WOLVOS
arvalho’s Brazilian Kitchen is a celebration of co-founder and Brazilian diplomat Ruth Marsteller’s heritage, and is an homage to her late father, Major Jovelino de Carvalho, who grew up in the Brazilian Amazon before serving in World War II. “The war took him to Italy, where he took up cooking,” says co-founder Phil Marstellern. “I fell in love with Ruth while working in the Amazon nearly 30 years ago, and we put that love into every element of this menu.” This love is evident in Carvalho’s signature cocktail: the caipirinha ($9). “The caipirinha, pronounced kaipee-reen-ya, is Brazil’s national cocktail,” Phil says. “It was originally developed for medicinal purposes in the late 1800s, but it was eventually tweaked and used more for fun than function.” To make it, pure cane sugar and lime are muddled in a glass – twisting the lime so the peels release their fragrant oils – and then cachaça, Brazil’s native spirit, is added. The contents are shaken to dissolve the sugar and then poured unstrained into a rocks glass with heaps of ice. “It tastes like a cross between a refreshing mojito and a limeade with a hint of bitterness, and it’s nearly impossible to have just one,” says Phil, noting Carvalho’s also has several variations, including watermelon and mango. Carvalho’s Brazilian Kitchen, 23623 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale; 480.563.1562; www.carvalhos.co.
SO SCOTTSDALE! |
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| SEPTEMBER 2017