Cachaca Fuzue Amendoim. I recently attended the UK Cachaca Festivals in Manchester. At the event I discovered a number of Cachaca’s that I had previously never seen nor heard of. Despite being the national spirit of Brasil, Cachaca has struggle to gain interest outside of its home country.

Cachaca is a sugar cane spirit but it refuses to accept itself as rum. Some literature even suggests Cachaca pre-dates rum production. In my opinion Cachaca is best viewed as a separate category in much the same way you may view Rhum Agricole. It perhaps has most in common with Rhum Agricole in that it is produced from Sugar Cane Juice rather than Molasses but the unique woods used to age the Cachaca’s produce a very different spirit. One which should be judged in its own right.

I have previously only reviewed one Cachaca on the site. To be honest that is because I have never really felt we get the “good” stuff over here in Europe. I have felt we get more Industrial mass-produced Cachaca. I have seen more artisanal looking brands online and have often wondered about how they might taste.

Thanks to the Cachaca Festival a great number of Cachaca’s which are not currently commercially available in the UK and Europe have been made available to taste and two events in Manchester and London (7th April 2018 and 14th April 2018).

The Cachaca Festivals gave each ticket holder a free hardback book on Cachaca. This gives background and information on all the brands presented at the Festival. This has been very useful in producing this review! And is a really great read as well.

I was fortunate enough to get some samples whilst I was at the Festivals. Very impressed with the Cachaca on offer. I would very much like to see it make our shores so perhaps a little bit of advertising here might help with that? I’d love for more people to enjoy some quality Cachaca.

So first up is Cachaca Fuzue. An organic Cachaca from Rio Claro, a small town in Sao Paulo. The owner Pablo Zurita produces his Cachaca without using chemical additives and is focused on being environmentally responsible. The Cachaca is produced in small batches on a Pot still.

The artwork on the bottle is the work of one of Brasil’s greatest ever artists Gustava Rosa. It certainly stood out at the festival I must say!

As did Pablo’s passion. As well as bringing his Cachaca with him he also had a photo album full of photos of the Cachaca production and sugar cane cultivation. He took a lot of time and effort in showing us his Cachaca Fuzue and I was very impressed by his passion. Something which I found in abundance amongst the stall holders and producers.

Cachaca Fuzue Amendoim is produced from fresh Sugar Cane Juice and  is aged for 2 years in Amendoim wood – “Amendoim do Brasil”. This is a native Brazilian wood which provides a subtle aroma to the Cachaca. It is bottled at 41% ABV. Sadly I do not know how much it is per bottle (which may be a good thing in terms of a review). There is no added sugar in this either. Bottle size is 750ml. Fuzue produce both this and an unaged “Pura” which is bottled fresh from the still.

Well that’s what they say anyway. I guess the best way is to put the Cachaca Fuzue to the test?

In the glass Cachaca Fuzue is a light golden to straw colour. The nose is light and delicately perfumed. A touch of pot pourri but nothing over powering.

Notes of vanilla also present themselves to give a nice balance to the nose. It’s very aromatic and very different rum.

In terms of a comparison to an Agricole it is more floral and less grassy and vegetal than most two year old Agricoles rums. I really enjoy nosing Cachaca’s they are very floral and really interesting.

Cachaca Fuzue is not aggressive or off-putting in any way on the nose.

Moving onto the sip and again I am really impressed. The initial entry is light and has some more familiar “woody” notes and a nice tangy spiciness to it. Notes of vanilla and a gentle burst of sweet sugar cane juice. This is a very nicely balanced,delicate tasting Cachaca. A really good starting point for trying aged Cachaca.

The mid palate and the finish have a nice almost Bourbon like twang to them – citrus fruits and some bitter-sweet woody notes. It’s a very easy drinking Cachaca.

The finish could perhaps have a bit more of a bite to it but whilst most of the flavours are lost fairly quickly it does leave behind a nice gentle undercurrent of spice.

All in all a really nice spirit. Well done as well – nicely balanced and easy to drink. Makes a really nice Caiprinha as well.