The second ‘c’ in cachaça has a cedilla accent under it, which softens the sound, so the word is pronounced ‘ka-sha-sah’. How is Cachaça Produced? The sugar cane is grown on sandy highland soils where the high temperature differential between day and night, the fertile soil, and crystal-clear spring water enable high quality sugarcane to grow. The sugarcane fields are cut in sequence by hand according to sugar content readiness and ripeness because, once cut, the sugarcane must be juiced for fermentation within 24 hours. Abelha Organic Cachaça out of Rio de Contas, Brazil has made its debuts in the U.S. in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. This interesting spirit is named for the hundreds of Brazilian honey bees that drink the fresh sugar cane juice during the juicing process. Full details on this beverage are below. Abelha Cachaça Silver is a premium hand-crafted white cachaça with an intense fruity/vegetal nose, fresh sugar cane and stone fruits taste with a smooth, dry finish.

Abelha is a Brazilian cachaca that got its start in 2009, but which is only just now making its way into U.S. distribution. (It’s currently available in a handful of states in the northeast but has national availability online.) The organic, pot-distilled cachaca is available in two expressions, a standard silver and an ouro which is aged for three years in 65-gallon garapeira casks, made from Brazilian ash wood. The spirit cachaça combines two very different beasts; artisanal cachaça and industrial cachaça. There are colossal differences between the two types of cachaca which result in an unmistakeable contrast in aroma, body and taste. As Abelha is an artisanal cachaça, we highlight some of the differences between these two production possibilities. Abelha has no added sugar or additives of any kind. The cachaça is organically certified in both the growing of the sugar cane and the distillation process at international standards. Only natural fertilizer is used, with no pesticides.Abelha Ouro, the gold expression, is a complex yet approachable aged cachaça. The honeyed nose is brightened with notes of tropical fruit, and the palate is rich with stone fruit, balsamic and spice notes. This remarkable flavor profile is achieved by aging the cachaça for three years in 65-gallon Garapeira casks; a native Brazilian ash, Garapeira is highly valued by cachaça producers because it enhances the natural flavor of the spirit with a multifaceted layer of sweetness and spice. She is also a practicing graphic and editorial designer and has worked for several studios and magazines in Rio and London. artisanal cachaça uses locally grown sugarcane that can be assessed for quality and sugar content prior to harvest and use. Industrial stills will use mass produced and harvested sugarcane. It is within the law to add up to 6 grammes of sugar per litre of cachaça and this happens to varying degrees across the many thousands of cachaça producers across Brazil. (We do not add any sugar to Abelha following distillation!). However you can also add more than 6 grammes per litre of cachaça if you then label your product as cachaça adoçada. Keep an eye out for this on bottles as they are likely to be industrially produced. Most of the history of cachaca is shrouded in mystery with alleged stories and unverified facts. Here are some of these stories and facts that we find most intriguing and which we will be exploring further over the next weeks and months!

Ananda is one of the emerging names in Brazilian street art worldwide. She was named by CNN Style as one of the top upcoming Brazilian female urban artists to watch and one of 6 amazing artists redefining Brazil’s art and design. We have really good news for Abelha Cachaça lovers all over: due to many requests to extend the deadline date of our arts competition, we’ve decided to give creatives minds some extra time to send their design to us: deadline is now 21st March 2016 and we can’t wait to see all you’ve come up to!No longer just the ‘poor man’s drink’, nowadays cachaça has become an integral part of Brazilian culture, as synonymous with the country as bossa nova, carnival, or football. It is produced and enjoyed all over Brazil and is enjoying an exciting renaissance; trendy cachaçarias have sprung up in Brazil’s major cities and, more recently, in many cities of around the world. Long may it continue! Abelha (“Bee” in Portuguese) is named for the hundreds of Brazilian honey bees that drink the fresh sugar cane juice during the juicing process. It also pays homage to the hardworking team behind Abelha, who run a self-sufficient, community-driven and sustainable farm. All waste is reused in future farming, the cars and tractors on the farm are powered on the byproducts from the distillate, and the team is always looking to improve organic technologies and infrastructure.

Working both in large scales murals and small canvas, Ananda spread her work all over Brazil, New York and London and was recently commissioned to design one of the Nike concept stores in Rio de Janeiro. In 2015, she was also commissioned to design Abelha Cachaça first limited edition Summer label, which we are extremely proud of! As a readily available cachaca here in the UK it is certainly something worth trying. It’s not as harsh as some of the younger “Industrial” cachacas that are available from the likes of Ypioca and Velho Barreiro. It’s also a lot better than BemBom. Which is best avoided. Abelha Organic Cachaça is made with cane, care, and craft. The brand is committed to the highest standard of production at every step of the process. Abelha Organic Silver Cachaca Despite attempts by some of the biggest players in the Drinks Industry cachaca remains very much a domestic product. There are thousands of cachaca brands available in Brasil. Only a very small portion of those brands even see the light of day outside Brasil.Marcos, Abelha’s Master Distiller, explains, “The main difference between industrial and artisanal cachaça is the distillation process; industrial cachaças are produced in a column still via continuous distillation; no separation between the beginning and end of the distillation. Artisanal cachaças are produced in alambique, (copper-pot still) which allows separation to improve the composition, body and flavour of the resulting cachaça”. As a sipper it is a little less rewarding. It’s got a fair amount of burn. It is much less sweet than I was expecting with quite a high concentration of alcohol notes – it’s a little bitter taken neat.