Happy International Cachaça Day!

Rum's close cousin is cachaça. It's made directly from sugar cane (rather than molasses), and has traditionally been a fiery, unaged product consumed by those who couldn't afford anything better. If a rum and cachaça family reunion were to be held, the tent would need to be very, very large. The Brazilian Association of Spirits (ABRABE) reports that Brazil produces some 4,000 brands of cachaça, totaling a billion liters each year. It's either the fourth or fifth best selling type of liquor worldwide, depending on which source of information you believe.

The Sociedade Brasileira da Cachaça, which represents cachaça manufacturers, has proposed that June 12 be named the International Day of Cachaça. For on this day in 1744, Portugal banned the production of the spirit in Brazil.