Cane
We get paella, flamenco and sangria. While Brazil is locked in stereotypes with samba, soccer and caipirinhas. Nothing to object to, but something to add. Because cachaça, the base liqueur of this iconic cocktail –made with sugar cane–, it has always been under a monopoly with which no one had dared to compete. And less to address an alternative audience.
“One day, talking to a friend from New York, he told us that he had never heard of cachaça. When looking for one to test it, we realized that there were only low quality brands and that the best ones clung to stereotypes to capture market. Without giving it much thought, we created Cãna that same day”, say Nick Walker –Brazilian and English– and Guilherme Junqueira –born in Rio de Janeiro–, founders of this sustainable label that borrows inspiration from the most elegant life of the South American country, from its art and those stories that still remain to be told.
We drink?
After several disappointments with producers in the Minas Gerais area, who had little heart for their plantations, they allied with Vicente Ribeiro's family distillery in Fazenda Soledade, in the mountains of Serra do Mar. The result? Pure tropical glory conceived to be drunk neat, on the rocks, versioning a Negroni or in a perfect Cãna Sour. Mezcal dear, be careful... the thing promises.
The founders of Cãna
This report was published in number 146 of the Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (Summer 2021). Subscribe to the printed edition (€18.00, annual subscription, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The April issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device