Cachaca Princesa Isabel Cana Caiana. This is the second cachaca up for review from the Fazenda Tupa which produces the Princesa Isabel range of cachacas. Hailing from Linhares, Espirito Santo state, Princesa Isabel is a family run business.

They produce their cachaca from two strains of sugar cane RB7515 and RB5453, which are suited to the climate present at Fazenda Tupa. The brand is named after the Cellia family matriach Isabel.

Husband and wife cachaceiros Adao Cellia and Maria Isabel de Moraes are helped by their children Maria Clara, Gabriela and Pedro.

Cachaca Princesa Isabel Cana Caiana is the latest cachaca to be released by Princesa Isbael. It was first released in 2019 and is limited to only 2,000 bottles per year.

As with all the Princesa Isabel cachacas it is produced from estate grown sugar cane which is harvested manually. The sugar cane juice is extracted within 12 hours of the harvest. The sugar cane juice is then fermented with commerically available strains of yeast (I am unsure for how long), before it is distilled on the Copper Pot Still at Fazenda Tupa.

Cachaca Princesa Isabel are a relatively new producer – they have been producing cachaca since 2016. When you look at the tall sleek bottles and the occasionally rounded stubby style bottles, you can see that they are taking a more modern approach to their presentation. This is perhaps not surprising as daughter Gabriela is in charge of the marketing for Princesa Isabel.

So we have a very sleek tall, thin bottle with wonderful watercolour art work of the birds and fauna surrounding Fazenda Tupa. The branding and appearance is modern and in line with brands such as Leblon, Novo Fogo and Yaguara. All of which are produced for the European and/or US market. A 700ml bottle will set you back around R$140 in Brasil which is just over £/€20.

It is noted that Cachaca Princesa Isabel Cana Caiana is made using a rare and difficult to grow strain of sugar cane. I am not sure which variety it is of the two strains they are noted down as using. I translated “Cana Caiana” and all I got was “Cane Cane”. So that wasn’t particularly helpful.

Should you want some more helpful/useful information on Cachaca Princesa Isabel, then they have a website which translates reasonably well into English.

Cachaca Princesa Isabel Cana Caiana is not aged in wood once it has been distilled. It is rested in stainless steel tanks for 12 months. It is then bottled at 44% ABV. Although cachaca can be produced at an ABV up to 48% ABV, it is not common for a “White/Silver” cachaca to be bottled at 44% ABV. Quite commonly the minimum 38% ABV is used.

In the glass Cachaca Princesa Isabel Cana Caiana is a completely clear spirit. The nose is bursting with sweet sugar cane aromas, vanilla and double cream. It’s rich and vibrant and the nose is big and bright.

Taking a sip, this is a very flavourful spirit. Lots of fresh, sweet sugar cane flavours. Very much like a higher ABV White Agricole. There is a slightly earthy and grassy note as well. This is backed up with some vanilla. I’m not getting much of the creaminess I got on the nose. What I am getting though particularly on the mid palate is a very nice chilli like burn. With all the sweetness going on this is a nice counter point and very much adds complexity to the spirit.

The finish moves into a nice slow burn of sweet sugar cane and that chilli spicy heat. It slowly feed leaving behind the more grassy aromas and something a little mineral like. It’s a decent length and overall this is quite a nice little sipper.

Or perhaps more a palate cleanser? It’s a nicely balanced cachaca and doesn’t have a great deal of acidity – I’m not getting any citrus notes I sometimes get with young cachaca. The chilli heat seems to have replaced this with this spirit.

As a mixer it performs really well. Working nicely in a Caiprinha or a Ti Punch or even just with some Lemonade. So its a versatile cachaca. I’d probably head more towards sipping though if I had a bottle.

All in all a very tasty well rounded and nicely balanced white/silver cachaca.