Snoop Dogg Heads to Cuca Fresca Cachaca

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg is finally coming to reality slowly, he is becoming a part of the "Brazilian Rum", Cachaca.  "You can't be cool by being like everyone else," he says in an advertisement that starts with a view of Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer statue. "Stay ahead of the game . drink different."  This is a far from the other rappers and their Vodkas and Cognacs, he is working with an up and coming spirit called Cachaca.  Putting his name on the marketing of Cuca Fresca Chacaca , is a great move.  This sugar cane spirit has recently separated itself from the category of rum and headed to its own place in the spirits world.

     Cocktails like Caipirinahs that have given the spirit its name, but the spirit has come into its own in the past few years.  Premiumization of the spirit has added to the attention that Cachaca is getting these days.   It is following in the path of its rum cousin by aging and improving the production process of the spirit to raise itself out of the "redheaded stepchild" image that it had in the past.

     "The cachaça industry has transformed over the last 20 years," says Paulo Furquim de Azevedo, of São Paulo's Insper business school. The industry traditionally consisted of family producers in regions such as Paraty in Rio de Janeiro state or Salinas in Minas Gerais. The consumer's problem was obtaining information to distinguish premium products from the rest, notes Mr Furquim.

 

Cuca Fresca Cachaca

     It is my feeling that Snoop Dogg has put himself into a great position to grow along with a product that has really come to life following the 2014 World Cup Championships exposure that brought it to the forefront of the spirits world.

     Brazil has 2,000 producers and 4,000 brands with output of 800m liters per year and capacity of 1.2bn liters, according to Ibrac, Brazil's cachaça institute. Over the past two decades, the industry has begun to introduce certification to set higher standards. Groups of important producers in Paraty and other regions have established regional certification. Premium products, some of which are aged for up to 12 years, can cost more than $100.

 

     There are so many really great Cachacas to try, find your favorite and learn to make so many of the cocktails that have brought the Cachaca name to the forefront of the cocktail world.  ;o)