See how this Brazilian drink became the country’s heritage.
Cachaça is a drink made from the fermentation and distillation of sugarcane juice. According to information on the Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) portal, the drink was discovered by the enslaved population in sugar mills and became popular among Brazilians over the years.
The production of this drink follows specific criteria: cachaça must, for example, have an alcohol content between 38% and 54% at 68°F (20ºC) and must have up to six grams per liter of added sugar (if it exceeds, it must be called sweetened cachaça).
To be called cachaça, the drink distilled from sugar cane must be produced on Brazilian soil. A series of laws and ordinances regulate production, maintaining the country’s exclusivity to produce the drink.
Presidential decree No. 4,062, of December 21, 2001, postulates the restriction of the use of the expressions “cachaça,” “Brasil,” and “cachaça do Brasil” (cachaça from Brazil) to producers established on national soil, also making them Brazilian geographical indications.
According to the decree, similar sugarcane distillates produced outside Brazilian soil must be called sugarcane spirits. According to the BPTO catalog in collaboration with Sebrae, geographical indications are tools for valuing and establishing competitive differences compared to the competition in favor of the country’s commercial and productive organization and tourist and cultural promotion.
The catalog also highlights notable cachaça production regions: the Salinas region, in Minas Gerais, the Abaíra microregion, in Bahia, and Paraty, in Rio de Janeiro, each with historical particularities and unique cachaças.
Source: Estadão
