Brazilian Orchard: How to Make a Caipirinha

As New Yorkers gear up for summer, they’re rediscovering the joys of spending time outdoors. Many are taking up running, be it at the gym or along one of Manhattan’s best running routes. For Eben Klemm, The Knickerbocker’s resident cocktail curator, the seasonal uptick of activity presented the opportunity to create a post-exercise drink. He turned to Brazil for inspiration, and with little wonder. The gym-obsessed locals there have refined the art of working out while still enjoying life—usually at a beach with a beer or caipirinha in hand.

“I was thinking about cocktails you might want to have after a workout,” explains Klemm. “Drinks that would seem healthy and refreshing even if they contained a fair amount of liquor.” The result? Klemm’s “Brazilian Orchard,” a caipirinha variation with cucumber, apple and lime. “It’d work for me after an hour on the treadmill,” says Klemm.

Here’s how to make a caipirinha you can enjoy all summer long, regardless of your workout routines:

Brazilian Orchard: How to make a caipirinha

Ingredients

3 slivers green apple

5 cucumber slices

2 ounces cachaça (Klemm uses Avua Silver)

1/2 ounce simple syrup

1/2 ounce lime juice

Cubed ice for shaking

Crushed ice for serving

1 ounce soda.

Annato powder

In a shaker, briefly muddle the green apple and 3 of the cucumber slices.

Add the cachaça, simple syrup, lime juice and ice.

Shake 20 times.

Add soda.

Double strain over crushed ice.

Garnish with remaining cucumber slices and a pinch of annato powder.

Enjoy the Brazilian Orchard at home, or have expert bartenders make it for you at St. Cloud Social, our rooftop bar with sweeping city views atop Times Square