Cachaca Boa Luz Serie Ouro. This cachaça hails from the smallest state in Brasil Sergibe. Which may explain why it is the first cachaça from that state that I have tried!

Boa Luz Serie Ouro is produced at the Jardim das Laranjeiras (The Orange Garden) distillery. As well  as Boa Luz they also produce a range of cachaça called Xingo. Despite having their own quite modern looking website there wasn’t a great deal of information on the cachaca’s.

From what I can gather the distillery has not been producing cachaça for very long. If you wish to investigate further here is a link to their website.

Boa Luz Serie Ouro is produced on Copper Pot stills from selected sugar cane which is harvested on site. It is aged for 3 years in French Oak casks. The cachaça is not widely available in Brasil, much of its distribution is restricted to Sergibe and the bordering Bahia state.

It is available in varying bottle sizes (which leads to some very interesting pictures in a google image search). It seems to be possible to buy this in various sizes from 50ml right up to 1.5 litres (or thereabouts). A 670ml bottle in Brasil retails at around the R$95 mark. This would work out at around £20. Were this to come over to the UK, I would be expecting to part with around £50-60. Price comparisons simply aren’t practical.

Presentation wise Boa Luz Serie Ouro is a bit more modern than some cachaca’s – it also has some of the front label translated into English. The 670ml bottle is a 3/4 affair with a very short neck and screw cap. Despite this you still get a cardboard sleeve to house the product. It has been bottled at a decent enough 41% ABV. Is it just me but is there something very non-standard about Brasil’s approach to measurements? Do they still use old imperial measures and just convert to metric?

Anyway who gives a toss. Lets move on to the fun part.

In the glass Boa Luz Serie Ouro is a nice golden brown colour with yellow tinges. The nose is sweet and oaky. It’s quite molasses like with notes of fudge, chocolate and caramel. Beneath this you get some gentle spices of vanilla and a more prominent note of ginger. There is a touch of hazelnut on the nose as well. There is a slight soapiness perhaps which reminds this is a Cachaca and not a molasses rum.

Sipped neat Boa Luz Serie Ouro is quite spicy with some nice notes again of ginger, it is pretty fiery and you do get quite a hit of alcohol. Young, sweet alcohol. This combines with the oak ageing to give some woody notes on the tongue.

Further sips reveal some more of the chocolate and toffee that was on the nose. A touch of vanilla.

It is only really on the mid palate when you begin to notice the grassier elements of this cachaça. Even they are not all that noticeable. I get a slight herbal note on the back of throat and a very light soapy taste. A kind of vegetal sweet sugar cane note as well.

The finish isn’t bad but I am finding the lighter nature of cachaça in general means the finish does tend to be more subdued than heavier molasses based rums. It is quite long lasting and very spicy with lots of woody oak, ginger and fennel.

I’ve enjoyed this as a sipper it’s solid and I quite enjoy the punchy, boozy kick – some cachaça is a little too light for my tastes.

Boa Luz Serie Ouro works nicely as a mixer. A caiprinha is really good with this cachaça as it a more simple Ti Punch. The relative youthfulness of this cachaça ensures the fierier elements of Boa Luz stand up to the sugar syrup. At times it tastes “stronger” than its 41% ABV.

This is a tasty and versatile cachaça, which I have thoroughly enjoyed.