The Brazilian Cocktail Anthony Bourdain Said Is Perfect For Any Occasion

The late celebrity chef and world-traveling television host Anthony Bourdain sure had some savage food takes. The man who ruined Monday's fish for a generation of diners also abhorred hollandaise sauce, truffle oil, and kobe sliders. Anthony Bourdain also loathed a club sandwich. While Bourdain disliked a lot of fare, the loveable curmudgeon's occasional approvals just seemed to set a higher bar than those of his peers. One drink Bourdain sure approved of? The caipirinha.

Bourdain called the caipirinha the "indispensable icon of Brazilian beach culture" in an episode of "Parts Unknown" shot on that very backdrop. The cachaça-based drink is "one of the world's truly great cocktails," Bourdain asserted in the segment. "[It's] a utility beverage good for any time of day, or any social occasion," he said. While a traditional caipirinha calls for limes, sugar, and a splash of cachaça, the drink can certainly be quite versatile. It isn't as sweet as one might imagine, considering it's a sugarcane-based spirit, but rather effortlessly bright and refreshing, thanks to its citrus component.

Bourdain's Brazilian beachside caipirinhas are made à la minute from a cart, with muddled lime, sugar, and the compulsory cachaça. It's all vigorously shaken with ice and poured into a petite plastic cup. While Bourdain extolls the tipple's any time, any place quality, these seem like particularly enviable environs for imbibing. You can try to approximate those sunny day vibes by free-pouring like the Brazilian mixologists do surfside. Still, on your first few efforts, we recommend following a more formal recipe.

To make a caipirinha at home, quarter a lime and add it to your shaker. Add about a tablespoon of sugar to work as an abrasive (unlike the smoother simple syrup alternative), and muddle it well. Pour in a couple of ounces of cachaça, pack the shaker with ice, and agitate the mixture the metal is too cold to hold, or for about a minute. That's all there is to this simple, citrusy drink. Aside from Bourdain, the caipirinha is also a favorite of Martha Stewart. While she's surely too mannered to look askance at a casual presentation, we're going to take a leap and assume she'd serve it in a proper rocks glass, instead.