Jul. 15: Novo Fogo Cachaca's Founder and CEO Dragos Axinte...

Fellow Drammers!

We’ve never done a cachaca event here at Drammers, but we’re determined to change that. We toured some incredible cachaca distilleries in Brazil in the last few months, and we’re delighted to announce this event with the founder and CEO of Novo Fogo cachaca, Dragos Axinte (and likely others from their team) on Thursday, July 15th, starting at 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Cachaca is fascinating for a bunch of reasons, not least of which is that they use a wide range of wood types for their barrels that nobody else in the spirits industry is really using, like Zebrawood, teak and Brazil nut barrels. For this event, we’ll be tasting 6 different expressions (since we’re fairly new to this category, we’re taking these descriptions word-for-word from their marketing materials for now FYI)…

• Colibri - this is one of the Brazilian names for “hummingbird,” a very important bird to the health of the rainforest through its tireless crosspolination work. This expression took many years to nish as the liquid was moved back and forth between repurposed oak barrels and Brazilian teak (amburana) barrels, with the bulk of time spent in oak. The predominant spices of vanilla (from the oak) and cinnamon (from the teak) come together in a balanced expression in which the palate and the aroma march in sync. This expression is a very limited release.

• Graciosa - Graciosa is a reflection of our love for the rainforest and the historic road that crosses it on its way from the mountains to the ocean. This expression is aged for 2 years in repurposed oak and nished for 18 months in castanheira do Pará (Brazil nut) barrels, lending it a vibrantly aromatic yet creamy disposition: starting with pecan and orchids on the nose, the palate morphs into cherry custard and nishes with pleasant notes of soft clove and anise. This expression is a very limited release.

• Tanager - Our “Tanager” expression mixes the Brazilian South’s two favorite woods. We age this cachaça in barrels of oak and araribá (zebrawood), a traditional Southern wood that adds natural red color and a distinctive mountain earthiness. We sourced the wood for our only two zebrawood barrels from an abandoned house located on a friend’s property. Tanager is spicy, oily, and funky and makes a powerful base for tiki drinks or an exotic twist on the Sazerac cocktail. This expression is a limited release.

• Barrel-Aged Cachaca - This cachaça ages the fresh avors from the original unaged spirit in repurposed American oak barrels. The 2-3 year process bakes the freshness of our cachaça in the heat and humidity of the rainforest. The result? Banana bread, with notes of chocolate, cinnamon bark, and coffee. A trace of pepper from the clear spirit remains, but the time spent in the barrel changes it to a toasty black pepper variation.

• Chameleon - Our “Chameleon” expression marries the savory identity of our Silver Cachaça with the vanilla notes of our oak-kissed Barrel Aged edition. It’s aged for one year in repurposed American oak barrels, just long enough to reach mixability peaks without losing its rainforest and sugarcane funk. From tiki drinks to stirred aperitifs, this versatile, higher-proof cachaça is the bartender’s friend.

• Unaged Cachaca - The purest representation of sugarcane from southern Brazil, Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça proves that terroir matters. A banana aroma is present from the rst whiff, followed by oral and tropical notes that shine through the spirit. Sea salt balances the cachaça’s fresh, funky avor, adding a savory quality and settling the overall avor to a mouth- watering sweet red pepper.

That’s our lineup! We hope you can join us!