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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Brazil
A cocktail of cachaça, lime, sugar and ice, prepared in the same glass it is served in. The federal beverage regulation defines it as Brazil’s typical drink, and it is served in bars, restaurants and homes throughout the country.
Traditional drink from Brazil
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Caipirinha — Brazil
The caipirinha is made in the glass in which it will be served. The lime, usually tahiti, is cut into wedges, with or without the white pith, and mashed with sugar until it releases the juice. Then cachaça, the sugarcane spirit, and plenty of ice, either in cubes or crushed, are added. It is stirred and served without straining, with the pieces of lime left in the bottom. The result is tart, sweet and strong at the same time, and every bar and home has its preferred balance: more or less sugar, lime with or without pith, ice whole or crushed.
Few drinks are defined by law. The federal beverage regulation, approved by Decree 12,709 on October 31, 2025, states in article 74 that caipirinha is the typical drink of the Federative Republic of Brazil, with an alcohol by volume of 15% to 36%, made with cachaça, lime and sugar. The text addresses industrialized caipirinha sold bottled, but repeats a definition that already appeared in the previous regulations from 2003 and 2009.
The origin has no documentary proof. The most repeated versions place it in the interior of São Paulo in the early 20th century, sometimes as a farmhouse drink, sometimes as a homemade remedy made with lime, garlic and honey that would have lost the garlic and gained sugar and ice. None of these versions is proven. The name is the diminutive of caipira, a word used for a country dweller.
From the coast to the interior, caipirinha is on the menu of bars, beach kiosks, restaurants and family gatherings. The same technique works with other fruits, such as passion fruit, strawberry, kiwi or cashew apple, and with other spirits: with vodka the drink is often called caipiroska, and with sake, sakerinha. By the regulation’s definition, however, caipirinha is only the one made with cachaça and lime. It is a strong drink, meant to be sipped slowly, preferably with food.
Brazil
The definition of caipirinha as Brazil’s typical drink is in the federal beverage regulation, which applies nationwide. Its origin has no document tying it to any city or state.
Cachaça, lime (usually tahiti) cut into wedges, sugar and ice.
Serve chilled, in the low glass in which it was prepared, without straining, stirring occasionally. Pairs well with appetizers, feijoada, churrasco and bar-style food.
Year-round, in bars, restaurants, beach kiosks and family or friend gatherings, especially on hot days and weekends.
Your questions
Lime cut into wedges and mashed with sugar in the same glass, cachaça and ice. Stir and serve without straining. Quantities vary from place to place.
Yes. The federal beverage regulation, approved by Decree 12,709 on October 31, 2025, defines in article 74 caipirinha as Brazil’s typical drink, made with cachaça, lime and sugar and containing 15% to 36% alcohol by volume. The definition applies to the industrialized bottled drink and repeats what already appeared in the 2003 and 2009 regulations.
In popular usage the technique is the same and bars offer many versions. With vodka the drink is commonly called caipiroska, and with sake, sakerinha. By the regulation’s definition, however, caipirinha is only the one made with cachaça, lime and sugar.
It is not known for certain. The best-known versions place it in the interior of São Paulo in the early 20th century, but none is supported by documentary evidence.
Flavors of Brazil
Sweet made of condensed milk, cocoa powder and butter, cooked until it reaches the right consistency, rolled into small balls and coated with chocolate sprinkles. It’s traditional at birthday parties throughout Brazil, and the name is linked to the presidential campaign of an Air Force brigadier in 1945.
Hot tucupi broth with manioc masa, jambu and dried shrimp, served in a cuia. In Belém it is sold by tacacazeiras at street stalls in the late afternoon, and their craft is recognized as cultural heritage.
Beans mixed with cassava flour, pork crackling, sausage, egg and collard greens. Inherited from the tropeiros who crossed Minas Gerais, it is the dish that best represents the cuisine of Belo Horizonte, according to a study by the city's tourism observatory.
A strong, very spicy broth of fish or game meat with tucupi, of indigenous origin, traditionally made in a clay pot. It is considered sacred by the Macuxi, Wapichana and Taurepang peoples and is a cultural heritage of Boa Vista.
Broth with wheat noodles, sliced meat, omelet and scallions, adapted from the Okinawa recipe by immigrants who arrived in Campo Grande in the early 20th century. It is a typical dish of the city and the subject of an annual festival at the Feira Central.
Young chicken marinated with wine and sage and roasted over coals, served in sequence with agnolini soup, polenta and radicci. A tradition of the galeterias of Caxias do Sul in the Serra Gaúcha, related to Italian immigration.
Tall pie with thin crust and a generous filling of chicken, sausage, pork, olive, palm heart, cheese and egg, sometimes with guariroba or pequi. According to tradition, it originated in Cidade de Goiás, the former Vila Boa.
Fish cooked with tomato, onion, cilantro and urucum in a clay pot, without dendê oil or coconut milk. A state law established it as a typical dish of Espírito Santo, and the pot used in the preparation is made by the paneleiras of Goiabeiras, a craft registered by IPHAN.
Stew of various meats with cooked pinhão and vegetables, made in an iron pot or on a plow disc. A dish from the Serra Catarinense and the Festa Nacional do Pinhão in Lages, it was declared a cultural heritage of Santa Catarina.
Sururu, a small mollusk from Lagoa Mundaú, cooked still in its shell with coconut milk, tomato, bell pepper and cilantro. It is the most typical way to serve sururu in Maceió; the sururu itself was declared intangible heritage of Alagoas.
French-roll sandwich with slices of tucumã, queijo coalho and fried pacovã banana. A typical Manaus breakfast, it was declared an intangible cultural heritage of the city by municipal law.
Yerba-mate infused with cold water, drunk from the guampa with a metal straw and passed hand to hand in a circle. A Guarani heritage shared with Paraguay, it is an everyday drink in Mato Grosso do Sul and a cultural heritage of the state.
Small baked polvilho roll, cured cheese, eggs, milk and fat, crunchy on the outside and elastic on the inside. A snack tied to the tradition of Minas Gerais farms, it is a symbol of Minas Gerais cuisine and is offered to guests with coffee.
Fried little fish, the gingas, served on tapioca with coconut. Signature dish of Redinha beach in Natal, created by fishermen more than half a century ago and recognized as intangible heritage of the municipality and the state.
Roast duck then cooked in tucupi with jambu leaves, served with rice and manioc flour. Star of the Círio de Nazaré lunch in October, it is intangible cultural heritage of Pará.
Beef cooked for many hours in a clay pot sealed with a dough made from flour, served with manioc (cassava) flour and banana. A typical dish of the Paraná coast, it has a geographical indication linked to Morretes, Antonina and Paranaguá.
Sugarcane spirit produced in the stills of Paraty, on the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro, where the drink has been made since the colonial period. It was the first cachaça with a geographical indication in the country and later the first Brazilian distilled spirit with a Denomination of Origin.
Butter-based cake with an ultra-thin batter, rolled in many layers with guava paste. A Pernambuco adaptation of a Portuguese cake, it is recognized by state law as cultural and intangible heritage of Pernambuco.
Non-alcoholic drink made from clarified cashew juice cooked until it takes on an amber color, bottled and served chilled. The traditional production and practices linked to cajuína in Piauí are Cultural Heritage of Brazil, registered by IPHAN.
Black beans cooked with salted or smoked beef and pork, served with rice, couve, farofa and orange. In Rio de Janeiro, it is the Saturday dish at botequins and at samba school quadras, and the feijoada carioca is an intangible heritage of the state.
Meat seasoned only with coarse salt and roasted on a skewer or grill over embers, with manual control of the fire. A 2003 state law established churrasco à gaúcha as a typical dish of Rio Grande do Sul and created Barbecue Day on April 24.
Little fritter made from ground cowpea (feijão-fradinho), fried in dendê oil and filled with vatapá, caruru, dried shrimp and chili. Sold from the baianas’ trays, it is a cultural heritage of Salvador, and the craft of the baianas de acarajé is registered by IPHAN.
Rice mixed with cuxá, a sauté of vinagreira leaves with toasted sesame, dried shrimp and flour. A signature dish of Maranhão, it was already sold in the streets of São Luís in the 19th century.
Bean thickened with flour, served with rice, pork chop, pork crackling, collard greens, fried egg, sausage and breaded banana. Monday dish in São Paulo restaurants, it is registered as intangible heritage of the state by Condephaat.
