Cachaça

Pronounced "kah-SHAH-sah," this fiery Brazilian brandy is a cross between tequila and rum and has a distinct charred sugar-molasses taste. Distilled from sugar cane grown in the country's northeast, cachaça was originally considered fire water for the poor but is now sipped neat or mixed most commonly as a Caipirinha by flush natives and tourists along Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana.

A Portuguese poet seems to have first wrote of this clear (barely) distilled spirit in his letters during the 1600s. Dutch invaders later elaborated by calling it a froth fit for livestock. Somewhere along the way, it was even denounced as the curse of the common man and the kissing cousin of rum.

But during the last century, this 80-proof liquor has gradually risen to high ranks, and Brazilians now proudly call it their national spirit, reminding us that other great beverages, such as the Russian's vodka and the Italian's grappa, had lowly beginnings, too. Not only have numerous books been written about cachaça - also called "pinga" - but a few museums and the Academy of Cachaça have been dedicated to it.

There are literally hundreds of cachaça brands in Brazil, but only a few have made it to Europe and the United States. Brands to watch for include Pirassununga 51, Rainha, and Velho Barreto. The latter is most suitable for sipping, and all work well as a rum or tequila substitute in such drinks as the Daiquri or the Margarita. Brands to avoid, according to Valmor Neto, owner of Bahia Cabana and instructor at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, include Pita and Nega Fulo (which translates to "young slave"). Both sell for less than a dollar in Brazil but are sold to unsuspecting gringos for about US$20 in the United States and Europe.