Cachaca Havaninha – The Saga of Anisio Santiago continues….Is the strap line for this brand of cachaça which hails from Salinas, Minas Gerais state. For those of you that have been following my cachaça reviews the name Anisio Santiago may ring a few bells as he was mentioned in an earlier review.

That review was for the similarly named Cachaca Havana which was first produced by Anisio Santiago. That legacy continues today as Anisio’s son – Osvaldo Mendes Santiago continues to produce and market the Havana and Anisio Santiago branded cachaca’s until 2013. He is now the co-owner of both brands.

So where does Cachaca Havaninha fit in? Well in 2013 Osvaldo began looking for a new challenge. As a result he decided to develop a new cachaça to the Brasillian market and Cachaca Havaninha was born.

The cachaça is produced at the Piragibe Farm in Salinas. The fresh sugar cane juice is distilled in small batches on copper pot stills. The cachaça is then aged for 6 years in Balsam wood. It is bottled at 48% ABV – the limit for cachaça. Any higher the ABV and it becomes Aguardente de Cana by law.

Cachaca Havaninha is available in a 600ml bottles size and retails for around $R110 this equates to just over €/£20. Were this ever to come to the UK the price would be much higher.

It is presented in two different bottles, the common dark “beer” style bottle complete with cap which requires a bottle opener and a standard clear bar style tall bottle. The labelling and design are old school but overall, it is a little more modern than some brands.

The cachaça has featured quite regularly in Top 50 lists of the best cachaca’s in Brasil. This might not sound like much of a feat but there are thousands of cachaça brands out there. Brasil is an enormous country when compared to somewhere like the UK or indeed most European countries.

Should you require more information on the brand they have their own website, Instagram and Facebook pages.

So lets move on to the fun part. The nosing and tasting.

In the glass I am presented with a white wine/straw coloured spirit. The nose is rich and creamy with lots of vanilla and some mild wood spices – a touch of ginger and some almonds. Further nosing reveals yoghurt and some zesty notes of lemon and lime. This gives the cachaça a little more bite. The ABV on this one is also giving the nose a little more “force” than some lower ABV cachacas.

Sipped, this reminds me of both Havana Anisio Santiago and Pirigibana. This however is more zesty than Havana and much less smoky than Pirigibana.

The entry is quite punchy and very zesty. Lot’s of orange peel and lime zest. A kind of mixed marmalade if you like. There is a nice hit of vanilla on the entry giving it a sweetness and the complex spicy notes from the wood really tingle the tastebuds. It’s a very spicy and complex opening.

On the mid palate things settle down a little. It is still quite spicy – with a slightly soapy note but the vanilla and toffee notes settle the whole spirit down. Even though the ABV is quite high at 48% it is quite easy to drink. It slips down quite smoothly.

The finish is quite long with notes of macadamia nuts and a lovely smoky aroma which mingles nicely with the spicy ginger and orange peel notes. It’s long and very pleasant.

This is a very “ungrassy” cachaça – much more like an aged Agricole such as Rhum JM XO – it has really taken a lot of influence from the balsam wood just like Rhum JM XO is influenced by the ex-bourbon oak barrels. There is a nice layer of complexity with Cachaca Havininha.

Once again we have a very good aged cachaça from Salinas, Minas Gerais. This state is fast becoming my Barbados of the cachaça world. This is one of the best aged cachaca’s I have tried so far and comes very close to Havana Anisio Santiago and Piragibana for me.

If you do get the chance you must try this. Excellent stuff.