It is spelled cachaça, with a cedilla under the second c, and pronounced roughly “kah-SHAH-sah”. Most bottles outside Brazil are the clear kind, bought for caipirinhas, yet the label says a lot: whether the spirit spent time in wood, for how long, and what kind of still it came from. Below you will find how to read that label, its strength and calories, the official caipirinha recipe and the math for turning a store-bought bottle into a liqueur at home.
What is cachaça and where does it come from?
Cachaça is the sugarcane spirit produced in Brazil, distilled from fermented sugarcane juice and bottled between 38% and 48% ABV (76 to 96 proof). It is defined by Portaria 539 of 2022 from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture. In 2025 Brazil had 1,538 registered producers, and exports came to about 8 million liters.
The name is protected. A 2001 Brazilian decree made “cachaça” a geographical indication reserved for producers in the country. In the United States, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has recognized cachaça as a distinctive product of Brazil since 2013. In Europe, protection comes through the interim trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, provisionally applied since May 1, 2026, which lists cachaça among the protected Brazilian geographical indications.
The process is short. The cane is cut and pressed, and the juice, called caldo de cana or garapa in Brazil, is left to ferment. The resulting cane wine is distilled, either in a copper pot still or in a column. The 2022 Portaria reserves the term “Cachaça de Alambique” for spirit distilled only in copper pot stills: it is the small producers’ version, and the label spells it out.
The Anuário da Cachaça, published every year by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, gives the scale. In 2025 there were 1,538 registered producers spread over 844 municipalities. Exports reached 7.95 million liters (about 2.1 million US gallons) and 17.07 million dollars, shipped to 76 countries, with the United States the top market by value. In the previous edition, with 2023 data, the state of Minas Gerais alone counted 504 registered cachaçarias, 41.4% of the total.
What is the difference between cachaça and rum?
Cachaça is made only from fresh fermented sugarcane juice, while rum can also start from molasses, the by-product of sugar making. Cachaça is bottled between 38% and 48% ABV; rum sold in the US must be at least 40% (80 proof), and in the EU at least 37.5%. Cachaça can only come from Brazil; rum can be made anywhere.
| Cachaça | Rum (EU definition) | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Portaria MAPA 539/2022 (Brazil) | Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Annex I |
| Raw material | Fresh sugarcane juice only, fermented | Molasses, syrup from sugar making, or sugarcane juice |
| Bottling strength | 38% to 48% ABV | At least 37.5% ABV |
| Added sugar | Up to 6 g/L; from 6 to 30 g/L it is called “adoçada” | Up to 20 g/L |
| Where it is made | Brazil only | Anywhere, apart from geographical indications |
| Aging woods | Oak and many Brazilian woods: amburana, bálsamo, jatobá, ipê | Usually oak |
Most rum on the shelf is made from molasses, what remains after the crystalline sugar has been extracted from the cane. Cachaça starts from freshly pressed juice instead, which gives it a greener, grassier profile, sometimes close to unripe fruit. Its closest relative is rhum agricole from the French Caribbean, also made from fresh juice: at that point the difference comes down to territory, rules and wood.
The strength rules explain some labels. Brazil allows cachaça from 38% ABV, while the US requires every rum to be bottled at no less than 80 proof, and the TTB rule holds cachaça sold in the US to that same floor. That is why one brand can come out at different strengths in different countries. The same TTB rule treats cachaça as a type of rum, so a US label may simply say “Cachaça”.
What do “envelhecida”, “premium” and “extra premium” mean?
They are aging categories set by Brazilian law. “Envelhecida” (aged) means at least half the contents spent a year in wooden casks of 700 liters or less. “Premium” means all of it did, for at least one year. “Extra premium” means all of it was aged for at least three years.
| Label term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Armazenada (stored) | It spent time in wood, with no minimum time and no limit on cask size |
| Envelhecida (aged) | At least 50% of the contents aged at least one year in wood, in containers of 700 liters (about 185 gallons) or less |
| Premium | All the contents aged at least one year, under the same conditions |
| Extra premium | All the contents aged at least three years, under the same conditions |
The words you hear most at the bar, “prata” or “branca” for the clear kind and “ouro” for the golden kind, are trade terms, and usage gives them their meaning. Prata usually means a clear cachaça rested in stainless steel; ouro a cachaça that has picked up color from wood. For how long it stayed there, and what share of it, the four legal terms in the table are what count.
One rule in the Portaria covers wood chips. A cachaça flavored with wood fragments loses the right to be called aged, and the label has to declare the process.
Why does cachaça rest in Brazilian woods?
Because Brazil grows woods that give aromas different from oak, and the law allows them. Amburana brings sweet, spicy notes, mostly from coumarin; bálsamo herbal and peppery notes; jatobá an amber-red color and hints of dried fruit. The same spirit changes a great deal depending on the cask.
Wood does two jobs: it colors the spirit and releases aromatic compounds into it. In 2011 the Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental published a study that compared the same cachaça over six months in casks of amburana, bálsamo, ipê, jatobá and jequitibá, against oak and against glass. Every wood improved the sensory profile compared with glass, each with its own color and flavor.
For a buyer, the useful point is this: the name of the wood, when it is given, matters as much as the aging time. An amburana cachaça tastes of vanilla and cinnamon even after a few months, and people tend to love it or dislike it. One aged in oak is closer to an aged rum. For a caipirinha, the classic choice is still the clear kind.
How strong is cachaça, and how many calories does it have?
Cachaça ranges from 38% to 48% ABV, and the exact figure is the one on the label. At 40% (80 proof) with no sugar it provides about 221 kcal per 100 ml, or 66 kcal in a 30 ml (1 fl oz) shot. Even an “adoçada” at the legal sugar maximum of 30 g/L rises only a little, to 233 kcal per 100 ml.
The math uses the same formula as the rest of the site’s calorie chart for liqueurs: calories per 100 ml equal the ABV times 5.52, plus grams of sugar per liter divided by ten and multiplied by 4. In a spirit, the alcohol outweighs everything else, because there is little or no sugar.
| Product | ABV (proof) | Sugar | kcal / 100 ml | 30 ml (1 fl oz) shot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cachaça at the legal minimum | 38% (76) | 0 g/L | 210 | 63 kcal |
| Cachaça | 40% (80) | 0 g/L | 221 | 66 kcal |
| Cachaça adoçada at the limit | 40% (80) | 30 g/L | 233 | 70 kcal |
| Cachaça at the legal maximum | 48% (96) | 0 g/L | 265 | 80 kcal |
| Rum at the EU minimum | 37.5% (75) | 0 g/L | 207 | 62 kcal |
The 5.52 factor comes from the density of ethanol, 0.789 g/ml, multiplied by the 7 kcal each gram of alcohol provides. The calorie chart applies the same formula to limoncello and cream liqueurs.
How do you make a caipirinha?
The International Bartenders Association recipe calls for 60 ml (2 fl oz) of cachaça, one lime cut into small wedges and 4 teaspoons of white cane sugar. Muddle the lime and sugar in the glass, fill it with crushed ice, pour in the cachaça and stir. A caipirinha made this way has about 200 kcal.
1. Cut the lime. Wash it, trim the ends and cut it into small wedges.
2. Muddle lime and sugar. Put the wedges and sugar in a double old fashioned glass and press with a muddler just enough to release the juice and the oils in the peel, with a few firm presses.
3. Add ice and cachaça. Fill the glass with crushed ice, pour in the 60 ml (2 fl oz) of cachaça and stir from the bottom up, so the sugar left on the bottom dissolves.
The name is tied to the spirit by law: Brazilian decree 4.851 of 2003 already defined the caipirinha as a “typical drink of Brazil”, made only with cachaça, lime and sugar. Made with vodka it becomes a caipiroska, with rum a caipirissima, and the IBA lists both variations.
The calorie math can be redone by hand. 60 ml of cachaça at 40% contains 24 ml of pure alcohol, or 18.9 grams, which comes to 133 kcal. Four teaspoons of sugar are about 16 grams and add 64 kcal. The total is 197 kcal, plus the little the lime juice brings.
How do you drink cachaça neat?
An aged cachaça is drunk neat, at room temperature, in a small glass, like an aged rum or any sipping spirit. A good clear cachaça, especially from a pot still, can be tasted neat the same way. The cold of the freezer dulls the aromas of wood and cane, which is exactly what sets one bottle apart from another.
Take small sips. The first one gets your palate used to the alcohol, and the scents of cane and wood come through better from the second sip on. To compare two bottles, taste them side by side at the same temperature: the difference between a prata and an amburana-aged cachaça shows up immediately.
Besides the caipirinha, cachaça goes into the batida, with coconut milk or fruit, and into many cocktails that elsewhere would use white rum. Compared with rum it brings more vegetal notes, and it usually wants a little less sugar to stay balanced.
Can you make a liqueur with cachaça at home?
Yes, starting from a legally purchased bottle: adding sugar, water or flavorings to a finished spirit is ordinary infusion, lawful for personal use. Distilling at home, on the other hand, requires a federal permit in the United States. Half a liter of cachaça at 40% contains 200 ml of pure alcohol, and everything is calculated from there.
Cachaça as a base has one clear advantage: it already carries a cane aroma, so a few ingredients are enough, such as a citrus peel, a fruit or a sweet spice. The method is the one described in how to make liqueur at home.
Here are two ways to turn half a bottle of 40% cachaça into a liqueur, with the math already done. The final volume accounts for the space dissolved sugar takes up, about 0.63 ml per gram.
| How you cut it | Final volume | ABV | Sugar | kcal / 100 ml |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 ml (16.9 fl oz) cachaça + 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar, no water | 563 ml (19 fl oz) | 35.5% | 178 g/L | 267 |
| 500 ml (16.9 fl oz) cachaça + 150 g (3/4 cup) sugar + 150 ml (5 fl oz) water | 745 ml (25.2 fl oz) | 26.9% | 201 g/L | 229 |
The pure alcohol always stays at 200 ml; only the volume around it changes. In the first row: 200 divided by 563 is 0.355, or 35.5% ABV. If you prefer to dissolve the sugar first, the ratios are in the guide to sugar syrup for liqueurs. The first version stays above 35% and keeps like a spirit; the second drops below 27% and should be finished sooner, as explained in how long homemade liqueur lasts.
If you like foreign spirits read from the label, the same kind of guide exists for mezcal, which shares with cachaça a strict national standard and a protected name.
Frequently asked questions about cachaça
How do you pronounce cachaça? Roughly “kah-SHAH-sah”, with the stress on the second syllable. The ç with the cedilla sounds like an s.
Is cachaça a type of rum? It depends on which law you look at. For Brazil and the European Union it is a name of its own, protected as a geographical indication; in the United States the TTB classifies it as a type of rum and a distinctive product of Brazil.
How strong is cachaça? By Brazilian law from 38% to 48% ABV, or 76 to 96 proof. The figure for each bottle is on the label, and in the US market the floor is 80 proof.
What is the difference between prata and ouro cachaça? Prata, or branca, usually means a clear cachaça rested in stainless steel; ouro a cachaça that has picked up color from wood. For how long it was aged, the legal terms are what count: armazenada, envelhecida, premium and extra premium.
How many calories are in a caipirinha? About 200 with the IBA recipe: 133 kcal from the 60 ml (2 fl oz) of cachaça at 40% and 64 from the 16 grams of sugar, plus the little from the lime juice.
Can you make a caipirinha with rum? Yes, and it takes another name: caipirissima. With vodka it becomes a caipiroska. The name caipirinha is reserved for the version with cachaça.
Does cachaça go bad? Unopened, it keeps for a long time: at 40% the alcohol protects it, as long as it is kept away from light and heat. Once opened it loses aroma over time, the faster the emptier the bottle.
This article describes a commercial product and contains no affiliate links; the site has no relationship with any producer. The section on infusing covers personal use of a legally purchased spirit: high-proof alcohol should be handled away from flames and heat, and anyone drinking should not drive. This content is for readers 21 and over.