Pitú Cachaça
Category: Cane, White
Country: Brazil
Aged: None
Alcohol: 40% (80 proof)
Availability: Almost Everywhere
Price: $16-$23 (1 L)
Appearance (0-5): 2
Aroma (0-25): 6
Taste (0-35): 8
Smoothness (0-10): 4
Body (0-5): 2
Overall Quality (0-20): 2
Machete Rating (0-100): 24
Notes: Cachaça is the rum of Brazil, using pure cane juice with little to no aging. And Pitú is the Bacardi (or, considering its likeness to vodka, Smirnoff) of Brazil: standard, cheap, and widely available. It is industrially produced and completely unaged. Right away, the bottle is opened and wow... some potent smelling stuff. One sniff of this South American moonshine might just make rasins of your eyeballs. Dominating aromas of corn, tin, and alcohol. The taste is patently disgusting on its own, and though it's far from smooth, it's not as harsh as the smell would suggest. There's a good reason cheap cachaça is also known in Brazil as agua que passarinho não bebe, or "water that even birds won't drink." As an ingredient in mixed drinks, it's poor and I can't recommend it - especially considering the price. For mixing in caipirinhas, it's barely acceptable (but Mae De Ouro, Leblon, Ypioca, Beleza Pura are all better options). Pitú is probably best suited for sanitizing wounds. Otherwise, avoid.