Cachaca Nova Alianca Balsamo. Translated roughly into English this means Cachaca New Alliance. The company behind these cachaca’s was formed fairly recently in 1988. The company is headed up by Janio Cesar Silva.

From what I can gather his the grandson (?) of Bijan Romualdo de Silva. Bijan aunched Indaiazinha Cachaca back in 1958 in Salinas, Minas Gerais. One of the largest and most respected Cachaca producing regions in Brasil.

Cachaca Nova Alianca have a number of cachaca’s on the market today. This cachaça which is aged in Balsamo, another cachaça aged in Umburana and finally a Prata “Unaged” cachaça. They also show the Indaiazinha cachaça on their website.

Cachaca Nova Alianca is produced on Copper Alembic Pot Stils in a traditional manner. Once again this is a cachaça producer which prides itself on environmentally friendly practices. Cachaca Nova Alianca Balsamo has been aged for 3 years.

It is bottled at 48% ABV and comes in a variety of bottle sizes from 50ml up to 1 litre bottle size. A more typical 670ml bottle will set you back around R$41 which is around £8 in the UK. I’ve not seen this for sale in the UK or Europe. I wouldn’t expect it to be much cheaper than £30 should it get here though. Presentation wise it would probably pass in a European retailer but I’m not sure it would leap out at anyone to make an impulse purchase. Its certainly not as pretty as Novo Fogo, Yaguara or Avua.

In the glass the Cachaca Nova Alianca is a straw/white wine colour. Nosing this cachaça it is very apparent that this is a balsam wood aged cachaça. It has a very creamy and slightly soapy aroma – double cream, vanilla ice cream and a slightly herbal note dominate the nose. Further nosing reveals some light tropical fruits and a touch of white wine. There is perhaps even a slightly smoky note.

Sipped this is a cachaça which is the maximum ABV before it would have to be termed as Aquardiente in Brasil. Despite this, it is still quite easy going and very nicely balanced. Double cream and vanilla dominate the initial sip. This is followed by a slight soapiness and a floral note. This is followed by a burst of ginger and wood spices which lead into a very nicely balanced mid palate.

The finish is long and very pleasant – whilst “soap” might not sound the nicest of descriptions. The “soapy” flavours of the balsam are really nice and the rich array of spices on the finish are really very enjoyable.

Once again the key to this cachaça is the balance. It does have a nice creamy sweetness but the extra ABV also gives it a bit more spice and a bit more burn. There is also, particularly in the mid palate and the finish, a slighty bitter or acidic note. Almost a bit like white wine which just adds an extra layer of complexity. I know cachaça producers can get a bit temperamental about use of the word “acidic” but it’s not a criticism.

Despite the ABV being quite high by cachaça standards this is still a ridiculously easy to drink spirit. Overall quite a light spirit but the extra ABV does give it a bit more body.

Lovely