WHITE SPIRITS: Cachaca in the UK

Despite the fact that most of us can barely spell cachaça, let alone Caipirinha, this category has been a hive of activity of late.

The growing popularity of Latin American cuisine and culture has been a key driving force, as has the Caipirinha, which has won timid palates far and wide with its accessible mix of cachaça, sugar, lime and crushed ice.

But the brand that really put cachaça on the radar is Sagatiba (RRP £13.50), which arrived in the UK in 2004 with a modern look and a big marketing budget. It is now the UK’s number-one selling cachaça, with a spot on pretty much every top-end back-bar, and even listings in certain branches of Waitrose.

And now other cachaças want a piece of the action, and they’re not afraid to aim high. First among these is Leblon (RRP £25-£28). Distilled only once, to retain its character, and then aged in Cognac barrels, it aims to combine the character and finesse which makes it fit for both mixing and sipping.

Fighting for similar turf is Cabana (RRP £25.99), which takes a more vodka-orientated line, promoting itself on its double-distilled, “unadulterated purity”.

While there may be a place for these in Brazil – which drinks enough of the stuff to make cachaça the third-biggest selling spirit in the world – the question remains whether the UK market is ready to trade up with its cachaça. Ben Frost of Brasilla, another newcomer at the rather lower RRP of £11.99, thinks not: “Unfortunately the infancy of the sector requires competition on price [so] in the off-trade we are fairly shamelessly acting like a Banana Republic and pegging ourselves to the primary currency, ie, we are always trying to get in slightly below our main competitor.”

© db November 2007