To finish this short run of brazilian drinks, I’m going to cover another batida. Whereas the Batida de Coco I presented yesterday is very light and refreshing, the Batida de Manga is a creamier, sweeter drink. From what I’ve seen, together they represent the two most common styles of batidas in Brazil.

Manga is portuguese for mango, so this is still very much a tropical drink. Instead of sugar, this drink uses condensed milk as the sweetener, which is key to getting the creamy factor. Of course, this makes the blender mandatory.

Also, it’s important to use a rich mango nectar in order to make the drink denser. Even better, use a slice of mango.

Finally, you can substitute any fruit, really, instead of the mango. Passion fruit, strawberries or bananas come to mind.

Recipe:

2 oz. Cachaça
3 oz. Mango nectar, or a slice of mango
2 oz. Condensed Milk

Throw everything in a blender with plenty of ice and blend until creamy and frothy. Serve in a tall glass with a small slice of mango, a straw, cocktail umbrella, the works.

Notes:

Not much to say, a nice poolside drink. You can tone down the alcohol if you’re planning to guzzle a whole lot of them.

Rating:

- Pretty nice.

Following on from yesterday’s Caipirinha, here’s another popular brazilian drink.

A Batida is actually a generic term for a sweet drink made with cachaça and some type of fruit, and then blended with ice. From my research it looks like each person makes it their own way, using different sweeteners and even spirits other than cachaça. Of course, each fruit will require its own level of sweetness, so really the only thing that is constant about these recipes is the use of ice (even the blender is sometimes optional, you can just shake with crushed ice).

I’m going to present a simple coconut batida, both because I have the ingredients and because its the only version I had heard of before. I’ve settled on the following recipe:

Recipe:

1 1/2 oz. Cachaça
3 oz. Coconut Cream
2 tsp Sugar

Place everything into a blender with plenty of ice and go nuts. Alternatively, you an crush about a cupful of ice and shake everything up in a shaker. You can strain the result or not, depending on your taste.

Notes:

With so many options, it was difficult to decide which ones to try. I tried a couple of ratios and the one above was the one I liked best. It’s better to make a weaker drink because you’ll be drinking it really quickly and making another one.

I ended up crushing some ice and shaking because I couldn’t be bothered to set up the blender. It worked pretty well, but I’d recommend adding the sugar first with a splash of water to dissolve it a little first. Alternatively, just use some simple syrup.

Rating:

-A very refreshing summer drink.

Since Brazil’s national spirit is cachaça, it’s only fitting that their national drink be the Caipirinha, a cocktail where it is the main player.

Recipe:

2 oz. Cachaça
2 tsp Sugar
4 Lime wedges

Cut a lime into 6 wedges. Into a wide-bottomed glass, drop four lime wedges and the sugar and muddle vigorously. When all the juice has been extracted from the wedges, fill the glass with crushed ice and finally pour in the cachaça. Stir everything together and serve with a straw.

Notes:

If you’re looking for a great summer drink, you can’t really go wrong with booze and limes. We’ve seen it while looking at cuban cocktails, and the caipirinha reinforces the idea.

You can try this drink with cubed ice and it will also work well, it depends on how much dilution you’re after.

Oh, and if you’re feeling virile, you can make a real man’s Caipirinha. The site is in portuguese, but I’m sure the pictures will get the point across.

Rating:

- It doesn’t get four stars because I’m unlikely to have cachaça at home on a regular basis.