Cachaca da Tulha Special Edition 2019. In 1998 Vevo and Guto Quintella took over the São José do Mato Seco farm in Mococa, São Paulo.

By 2004 they had begun producing “traditional” Cachaca aged in native Brasilian woods – Carvalho and Jequitiba. The Quintella’s also set up a small “laboratory” for cachaca. In this laboratory they began experimenting with ageing cachaca in various wood such as Amburana, Balsam and European and American oak.

Since 2007 Cachaca da Tulha have been releasing annual special editions of cachaca. The invite 5 “tasters” each year to try various aged cachaca to decide on the final blend. This particular edition of Cachaca da Tulha was even more special as it paid tribute to cachaca expert and chemist Erwin Weinman who sadly died in September 2019.

As a result of this the blend is made from only Native Brasilian wood casks – how Erwin preferred his cachaca to be made. The blend and homage took place at Mesa SP 2019, at the Latin America Memorial. The developers Cidinha Santiago (Edu Guedes and You Program), Fabrício Lemos (Origin, Orí , Mini Bar Gem – Salvador ), Daniel Weinmann (son of master Erwin and spirits enthusiast), Isadora Fornari (Cachaça Specialist), Ieda de Matos (Casa de Ieda – São Paulo), and Alexandre Alves (artist responsible for the label).

The actual blend of this cachaca is as follows

32.5% Jequitiba Aged 8 Years

32.5% Jequitiba Aged 11 Years

20% Jequitiba Aged 14 Years

10% Balsamo Aged 8 Years

5% Balsamo Aged 18 Years

So we have a blend of cachaca aged between 8 and 18 years. Cachaca da Tulha is distilled in Pot Stills from fermented fresh sugar cane juice. Which is taken from the farm. It is presented in a 750ml bottle at 40% ABV.

In terms of availability Cachaca da Tulha, is only available currently in Brasil and South Africa strangely enough. Whether this Special Edition reached African shores I’m not so sure. In Brasil this will set you back around R$100 (around £11). Where this to hit our shores I’d expect a price in excess of £50 per bottle.

In terms of presentation Cachaca da Tulha Special Edition 2019 certainly could be exported abroad as the presentation is top notch. If you are seeking more information on the brand than they have a website here.

So lets see how well this commemorates Erwin Wienman……..

In the glass we have a gold/straw coloured spirit. Some of these native Brasilian woods do not impart as much colour as European or American oak.

The nose is light and sweet. Toffee, double cream and a little white grape. There is a slightly zest to it as well some slightly tart citrus. With this being 40% ABV it is quite light overall but what is there on the nose is nicely put together and well balanced. It’s an inviting nose.

On the sip it initially starts with a brief burst of spice – white pepper, a little green chilli and some sandalwood. It’s not as sweet as I was expecting from the nose. It is more woodier as well with a good hit of wood spices and tannins.

That said it’s still quite light and easy going. The sweetness returns along with the citrus on the mid palate, which is full of light white chocolate as well. Toffee and a little bit of mocha. This is brought along nicely by the different woods giving an array of unusual notes – slightly soapy in places but not at all unpleasant.

In terms of the finish it offers a gentle but lingering fade of the wood spices and double cream. A touch of toffee as well.

This is quite a light fairly low ABV cachaca (well not so much for cachaca but certainly for a lot of rum lovers who drink cask strength by default) I do feel if this was released at a higher ABV say 46% it could be a show stopper.

It’s complex and full of flavour but I feel it could have done with just a little more omph to take it from being very good to excellent.

That said it’s still a great product and a nice way to commemorate Erwin Weinman.