Situated in the foothills of the Serra do Mar mountains in eastern Brazil, the quaint town of Morretes is home to approximately 15,000 residents, including Agenor Macarri Jr., the master distiller at Agroecolgica Marumbi. Macarri, who received a graduate degree in Cachaa Agronomy from Universidade Federal do Parana in Curitiba, is often referred to as Dr. Cachaa. Macarri has studied every component of cachaa production, from the genetics of sugar cane to the exposure of cachaa to different types of wood. Novo Fogo Organic Gold Cachaa is made from 100% estate-grown, organic sugarcane grown without the use of chemicals or preservatives. While many sugarcane farmers burn their fields prior to harvesting their plants (burning enables faster cultivation), Novo Fogo refuses to use flame-harvesting due to the detrimental effects it has on the sugars residing in the base of the cane stalk. Rather, when the sugarcane reaches its peak of maturity, expert farmers at the Novo Fogo estate tenderly harvest the crops by hand. After the sugarcane is harvested, it is pressed to extract the sugar cane juice. The juice is then mixed with with organic corn, rice and lime juice and is fermented for approximately 24 hours. After fermentation, the wash is distilled in one pass through Macarri's 1,200-liter copper-pot still (the bagasse the dry, fibrous residue remaining after the sugarcane stalks are pressed is used to heat the still). "We use pure sugar cane, grown organically and processed manually, with no chemicals, so why should we distill it twice"asks Macarri. "There are no impurities in it to remove through multiple distillation." After distillation, the heads and tails of the distillate are cut, and the remaining cachaa is matured in steel tanks for over a year a unique process which mellows and adds further character to the spirit. Novo Fogo Organic Silver Cachaa has a nose of lime, banana and coconut, which gives way to notes of sea salt, sweet peppers and more tropical fruits. The finish is smooth, and defined by bold notes of pure sugar cane. The cachaa is brought to proof and each hand-blown bottle is then filled and labeled by hand. Novo Fogo, which means "new fire" in Portuguese, wont burn you, and is now available in a cocktail kit complete with all the tools you need including a wooden muddler and two mason jars to make the perfect Caipirinha, the world's most popular cocktail!
