Novo Fogo Silver Cachaca. As I continue my journey into the world of cachaca I am encountering a few cachaca brands which are more geared for the export market, rather than the huge domestic market in Brasil.

One such brand is Novo Fogo. I have previously reviewed a couple of their expressions a Barrel Aged cachaca and  their Tanager blend. Both were pretty good. So having taken some time out to sort out my samples boxes into some kind of order I dug into my cachaca box and came out with Novo Fogo Silver. So we’ll give it a spin today.

Unlike most cachaca brands in the US and Europe Novo Fogo do actually own their own distillery in Morretes, Parana state and they work closely with two other distilleries in Parana, who provide cachaca for their blends.

Novo Fogo Silver Cachaca is the base spirit for all of Novo Fogo’s range. It is produced from organic hand harvested estate sugar cane, which is harvested and pressed within 24 hours. The sugar cane juice is then fermented for 24 hours which produces a sugar cane wine of around 7%-8% ABV, which is then used for the distillation.

Novo Fogo Silver Cachaca is 100% Pot Distilled in small batches the still used has a capacity of 1200 litres. Only the heart of the distillation is used for the cachaca (as is normal) but the head and tails are used to produce sanitiser, which is used to help clean the facility and fuel which is used to power employees cars and the vehicles used at the distillery such as tractors.

The heart of the distillation, around 120 litres comes off the still at around 48% ABV on average. This is then stored in stainless steel tanks. It is then slowly blended with local spring water to bring the ABV down to 40% ABV.

Novo Fogo can be found quite easily in the US and also has pretty decent availability here in the UK and Europe. Novo Fogo Silver Cachaca is currently available at The Whisky Exchange. It retails at £29.95 for a 70cl bottle. The ABV as mentioned earlier is 40%.

Novo Fogo have a very strong and very modern branding. The “shapely” rounded bottles are really nice and the overall design is clean and very much on trend. As you would expect from such a strong modern brand they have their own website. Which is very informative and well worth a visit.

So I think we have pretty much covered everything I can think of. So why don’t we give this a whirl?

Oh just a quick note if you are in the US you can also pick up a handy 50ml miniature complete with a kit so you can make your own Caiprinha. Which I think is a nifty idea.

So in the glass we have a crystal clear spirit.

Nosing Novo Fogo Silver Cachaca I am immediately in very familiar white unaged cachaca territory. Which is reassuring.

The nose is pretty punchy you can certainly nose this from a distance. For those unfamiliar with white cachaca they often nose a little like a slightly less boozy Wray and Nephew OP and a rhum agricole combined. Often cachaca is bottled at 38% ABV so this is just above the often more conventional ABV.

It’s quite zesty and pretty pungent. Grassy and milky aromas jump out at you but they are carried by a very clean citrus punch which adds a nice balance and extra layer to the nose. You can tell from the nose this is a punchy and well defined cachaca. It will not go missing in mixed drinks.

As a sipper, it is surprisingly floral and has quite “mineral” like note. It  actually has a really nice layer of complexity. Spicy notes of ginger and cardamon. A nice kick as you swallow. It is clean and quite dry on the palate.

It is very refreshing and works well as a palate cleanser. Novo Fogo Silver Cachaca leaves behind a nice fresh almost lemon note in the mouth. Finish wise it isn’t particular long but it is a drink worth holding in your mouth for a few seconds as it has a nice honeyed sweetness which works wonderfully with the citrus and spice notes.

As a mixer Novo Fogo Silver Cachaca works wonderfully in “lighter” cocktails such as the Caiprinha and in a Mojito. It doesn’t fair all that well when mixed with coke – to be fair it’s not really the best way to approach cachaca.

This is a very good cachaca and it is available at a very fair price. I can’t immediately think of any white cachaca that I would rate above this in terms of quality, price and availability. It’s certainly better then Abelha and Ben Bom, for sure.

Reviews of this have been very positive online. I found this review from Lance at The Lone Caner as the one review from a dedicated rum/cachaca reviewer. He also enjoyed this.

Excellent stuff a really well put together and well balanced spirit.