Cachaca is a spirit made from the distillation and fermentation of the sugar cane juice. It is also known as aguardente or pinga. Cachaca is a type of rum that is only produced in Brazil. The main difference between cachaça and rum is that rum is usually made from sugar cane molasses, while cachaça is made from fresh sugarcane juice.
Cachaca is the most popular spirit in Brazil and the third most consumed spirit in the world. Currently around 2 billion litres are consumed yearly, with only two percent destinated to the international market. There are two types of cachaça: artisanal and industrial. Saturno is the only artisanal cachaca in the Australian market.
Cachaça has basically two varieties: unaged and aged. Unaged cachaça is usually bottled immediately after distillation and tends to be cheaper. Saturno unaged cachaca rests for 4 months in Amburana wood to achieve a smoother blend. Unaged cachaca is the most common used on the preparations of the caipirinha cocktail. The Caipirinha cocktail can be prepared with basically any fruit available. Cachaca also mixes great with fruit juices.
Dark cachaça, usually seen as the "premium" variety, is aged in wood barrels and mostly consumed straight or on ice. Saturno aged cachaca is aged for 3 years in Amburana wood barrells.
