Aguaviva Cachaca

Aguaviva is the first export from a family that has grown sugarcane and distilled cachaça in Brazil since 1902. The Rocha family's distillery outside Rio de Janeiro runs on biodynamic principles — no artificial chemicals on the soil or the cane — and does things the slow way: the canes are ground manually on mills built in 1871, so no bark or pulpy residue ends up in the pressed juice, and fermentation runs on natural yeasts cultured from the cane itself. Cachaça is Brazil's national spirit, distilled from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses, which puts it in the same family as Martinique's rhum agricole and Haiti's clairin — an agricultural spirit that carries terroir the way a single malt does. This one is unaged and crystal clear, bottled at 42% ABV, and it's funky. K&L calls it wildly flavorful, loaded with earthy banana and green pepper; the Ultimate Beverage Challenge, which named it a Great Value, found wet cornmeal and grass on the nose, fresh tamales and raw sourdough on the palate, and wheatgrass on a vegetal finish. Expect raw cane, fresh grass, a faint olive-and-pepper note, and a clean, dry, savory close. The label's egúngún figure is a nod to the Afro-Brazilian candomblé tradition and the family's respect for the land. It will amp up any caipirinha or tiki drink you make — which is exactly what it's for.

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