So last night I had only four of these things, but the effect was much more evident. Kidding aside, I actually didn’t feel Wednesday’s five hardly at all — could it have been that VeriSign watered the drinks?
Or does being in meetings all day just destroy one’s resistance?
It could have been really bad cachaça, but my guess is that it was watered down. Where did you have the drinks this time?
The hotel bar, this time. Tasted much stronger too.
Ah, see, there’s your problem. Hotel bars probably skimp on the cachaca, to spare their vulnerable patrons.
Go out to the street, if you can (Sao Paulo isn’t that safe). Find a street party and one of the vendors. You’ll notice not many Brazilians buy it: they need to last the night, and stay hydrated.
I have a personal story from the street party in Lapa, Rio (the area recently featured in the NYT travel section, which might ruin it). The vendor turned over the cachaca bottle, and let it run. Seconds passed. A British friend turned to me and asked, “You suppose we should explain the concept of profit margins to him?”
The drink was only three reais. Apparently entire bottles of cachaca sell for not much more than that.
But the hotel one was (I think) *stronger* than the one the night before …
Adam, really mediocre cachaças (like the typical Pitu or Ypioca) sell pretty cheaply and they are great for making caipirinhas. There are a lot of good brands that sell for much more than that and are good for drinking straight. As you note, however, it is very inexpensive (at least for gringos) to go out drinking in Brazil. belo Horizonte may very well be the best bar town in the country.
The hotel bar scenario certainly makes sense to me. They probably charge a lot more than other places and want to keep people drinking.
Melissa and I went to Rio for our honeymoon and fell in love with this drink. We call them “babymakers.”