🥃 Cachaça

Cachaça is Brazil's cane spirit, often described as a cousin of rum. It is the typical and exclusive name for sugar-cane spirit (aguardente de cana) produced in Brazil. Under Article 53 of Decree No. 6,871/2009, it is made by distilling the fermented must of sugar-cane juice, its strength is 38 to 48% vol. at 20 °C, and no more than 6 g of sugar per litre may be added.

The same decree defines two more names. Cachaça with more than 6 and less than 30 g/l of sugar is cachaça adoçada, or sweetened. Cachaça envelhecida, aged cachaça, must contain at least half cane spirit aged for no less than a year; caramel may be used to correct the colour. The broader aguardente de cana category allows 38–54% vol., so every cachaça is a cane spirit, but not the other way round.

The quality standard is now set by Ordinance No. 539 of Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, dated 26 December 2022. It defines cachaça de alambique: cachaça distilled entirely in copper batch stills from the must of raw cane juice. A drink kept in wood that does not meet the ageing requirements is called cachaça armazenada, and the type of wood must be stated on the label.

Decree No. 4,062/2001 made the words “cachaça”, “Brasil” and “cachaça do Brasil” geographical indications: the name belongs only to producers in Brazil. The United States recognises cachaça as a Brazilian type of rum, and in the EU the name has been protected since 1 May 2026 under the interim trade agreement with Mercosur. At the end of 2018 Brazil had 951 registered producers, most of them in Minas Gerais.

Why it matters to you. Genuine cachaça comes only from Brazil, and the strength on the label must be between 38 and 48% vol. “Envelhecida” means real ageing, while “armazenada” means it was only stored in wood. A sweeter taste points to adoçada. And remember: according to the WHO, there is no safe amount of alcohol.