The Talking Ticket

I’ve had many pangs of “saudade” since coming back from Brazil a couple of months ago.

“Saudade” is my favourite word in Portuguese, which refers to “a nostalgic longing for something or someone, where you’re not sure when or if you will see that person or experience that thing again.”

And my god have I longed to be back in balmy weather, listening to Bossanova on Copacabana, with a caipirinha in my hand!

A lemon caipirinha is the classic Brazilian caipirinha cocktail, but in a country of fruit abundance, the variations are sensational. My all-time favourite is with maracujà (passion fruit), which I recently recreated at home in France. Follow my recipe below for a dream trip back to Brazil even on a cold, rainy evening.

Ingredients for 6 cocktails

240ml cachaça

3 limes (cut into wedges)

3 passion fruit

113 grams caster sugar

ice

fresh mint

If you can’t find cachaça, you can use vodka instead, which will make a caipiroska, or white rum, which will make a caipiríssima.

Method

Roll the limes on a surface before cutting to release the juices.

Put the lime wedges and sugar into your cocktail mixer and muddle until the limes are juiced and the sugar is dissolved.

Stir in the cachaça and the flesh from the passion fruit (DON’T SHAKE!).

Put a healthy serving of ice in each glass.

Fish out the lime wedges, distributing them evenly in each glass, followed by a sprig of mint.

Pour the mixture evenly into each glass.

Drink SLOWLY as it’s 40%…

Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried these out and how they turned out!