How to Make a Caipirinha – The American Bartending School Way

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Speaking of great cocktails made with cachaça, let’s take a moment before the weekend and see what our old friends at the American Bartending School would do when confronted with a bottle of the stuff.

In this segment, we’ll learn how to make the Brazilian classic, the caipirinha (kai-peer-EEN-ya)

1. Announce to your friends that you will be making them a kah-pree-ANN-nah kah-pree-EE-nah kah-pree-EE-nah.

Note: the caipirinha is made with a special type of Brazilian liqueur called cachaça (kuh-CHA-ka, or however it’s pronounced). Like rum, cachaça also comes in different colors.

2. Introduce your friends to the cachaça bottle, then return to its original location. It will not be needed again during the construction of this cocktail.

3. Take your rock glass.

4. Add an undisclosed number of pieces of lime and some simple syrup.

5. Mash limes with a miniature baseball bat.

6. Add ice and top with one ounce of “cachaça”, which is suspiciously identical to the simple syrup bottle.

7. Top with either soda water or sweet-and-sour mix.

8. Enjoy!

54 Replies to “How to Make a Caipirinha – The American Bartending School Way”

  • Nuno Paulino says:

    Comm’n that´s not a Caipirinha, here I´ll give you the proper Brazilian recipe-
    60ml or 2 ounces-white cachaça such as Sagatiba
    A half of a “normal” sized lime
    Around an ounce or 30ml of rich simple syrup made with brown sugar

    1-cut the lime half into four pieces
    2-muddle the lime with the syrup
    3- add the cachaça
    4-fill half of the rocks glass with crushed ice
    5- mix gently
    6-fill the rest of the glass with crushed ice
    7-garnish with a lime wedge and two small straws

    From Nuno the Portuguese Guy

  • Linda says:

    Just back from Brazil – Name of drink is “ka pee RIN ya”.
    No soda or other mix – no simple syrup
    just the juice of many crushed limes, sugar, and cachasa.

  • Geoffrey Vleeschouwer says:

    to your list:
    9. “Sometimes the limes don’t have a lot of juice in there…” Oh my god, if you can’t find decent limes in Brazil than where will you find them?

  • Adam K says:

    Just saw this, and I have it posted on my FB a few weeks ago with much more angry commentary on my part. Youre subtle sarcasm is far more approachable than my dissapointment. Ive actually watched a few videos from this nozzle, on the web, and find it suspeicious none of them have any comments underneath, positive or negative.

  • Jonathan Van Ark says:

    Hey! At least he didn’t pick his nose this time. Always a plus.

  • Brittany says:

    There are all kinds of things wrong with this video. Then again, he did learn to bartend in only two weeks. Guess, that’s all we can expect.

  • hmm? says:

    Hey now didn’t he say no one uses fresh limes anymore in his previous videos?

  • kristen says:

    I couldn’t finish watching it!

    I can’t tell if I want to feel bad for the guy.. or the Caipirinha.. oh the humility!

  • Cielo Gold says:

    This guy’s video gives all bartending schools out there a bad name. Man, I just cringe every time I heard him say cachaça.

  • Dano says:

    Jeffrey,
    You looked a bit tired in the video. (Poor lighting maybe?)
    Anyway, I added the drink to my menu but now I’m going through like sixty baseball bats a week. Someone should figure out a way to re-use those things! (Hey, just another million dollar idea from the Idea Machine…)

  • Tony says:

    This video is just beautiful!

    Turning off comments is just mean! That was the best part of this video!

    It´s incredible the wait he perfected the art of not getting a single part of it right.
    Oops, sorry! He did add some “pieces lime” to it! OH! And the ice!

    I also like his math: Quick dash = half Oz. – I guess this isn´t even a big deal after all for.

  • Jeremy says:

    Apparently, the same guy posts these vids, and his name is Jack Tiano

    Learn how to expertly prepare the most popular mixed drink cocktail recipes from American Bartenders Schools
    Name: Jack
    I am a fun guy who is interesting and interested in other people and things. I enjoy new experiences and I am never bored.
    I have traveled many parts of the world and always found local drink customs and bars to be very interesting. I like teaching others and sharing information.

    I also noticed he turned off comments on this video, recently.

  • bware says:

    I prefer a little sweeter KaPreenA

    2 oz Simple Syrup
    1/2 Lime
    Muddle then add

    Ice
    2 oz Simple Syrup
    Shake
    Top with Club Soda.

    You get a real buzz after 6 or 7 of these.

  • cocktail affairs says:

    I am surprised he does´nt add the ice with his hands…

  • Jeffrey,

    Be honest, you own stock in BarSchool.com. That has to be the reason you keep promoting their videos on your site!

    Cheers!

    Blair

  • Steve Pennack says:

    This is gold.

  • ND says:

    Note: don’t let that baseball bat roll off the bar! Also, it’s traditional to muddle with the round part—the flat part is just the right size and shape for your thumb.

    Never trust a bartender with two bottles of Malibu…

  • Joe Niedbala says:

    Wadda ya want from the guy? In the Manhattan video he describes sweet vermouth as wine with added herbs and Bionicles…

  • Hillary says:

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    I died cracking up watching this video and your text alone in my house. OMG I have to share this with someone that will find it equally as funny (if I can find anyone).

    HAHAHAH

    Thanks for the GREAT laugh!!!!!

  • Mark says:

    I think it’s sad. This guy obviously doesn’t have a friend in the world. If he did, don’t you think that at some point one of his friends would say, “Hey, dude, seriously, stop.” I mean let him do three or four (that’s just funny) but really, eventually, won’t you tell your pal that he’s got a four foot toilet paper trail stuck to his shoe? If he does have friends they’re just plain mean, funny, but mean.

    Oh, and it is me or was he holding the muddler upside down?

    In full disclosure, I went to ABS here in Tampa and I thought it was pretty well done – it all depends on the instructors. Most the recipes we were taught were reasonable. They do push the sour mix – as my instructor put it, fresh fruit is better but chances are that where ever you end up working will cheap out and use sour mix (points for honesty).

    Overall, anyone who thinks that they are going to take a one – two week course and end up being a fully trained bartender probably also buys a lot of stuff off late night infomercials.

  • Scooter says:

    Hmmm…there’s no way that guy’s Brazilian.

  • Cuco says:

    Thre recipe is wrong.
    You must Shake the caipirinha.
    You can use simple syrup but in brasil they used sugar.
    And nobody in Brasil put Soda wather in a caipirinha.

    The cachaça in the video is Ypioca but you can find a lot of brands.
    One of my favourites is
    Sagatiba
    http://www.sagatiba.com/

  • Garretto says:

    I’d say he just doesn’t care, had he not brought that bottle of cachaca all the way back from Brazil! Sure. He kind of looks like a carni —-maybe he was working the Ferris wheel at Carnival. Why does he piss me off so? I’ve had many a disappointing “happy hour” due to lazy, pride less bar-hacks; or maybe they had paid for his tutelage? I hold he and his ilk responsible!

  • Smach says:

    I can’t BELIEVE I’ve been making it wrong all these years! Oh, the shame! I knew I’d never get away with no proper training. Finally, the truth is told.

  • Cocktail Curmedgeon says:

    OK, sure, this guy’s a total joke. But. for heaven’s sake man, you’re pushing olive juice in a bottle. Get a grip!

  • Rick says:

    Jeff,

    Perhaps we should produce a video of equal quality and panache. I bet we could butcher a Sazerac cocktail with class!

  • Chuck says:

    Just put a tribble on the bar — then we’ll know for sure if he’s a Klingon.

  • marcel says:

    Whahaha!

    Don’t tell him it’s a bad cocktail! Klingons will murder you for that!

  • Ross says:

    The more I think about it, the more misunderstood I think this man is. I mean, c’mon: k’preena and k’chaka. It’s obvious:

    This man is a Klingon.

    (Klingon’s are notoriously lousy bartenders.)

  • Tiare says:

    Hah! that detail with the simple syrup bottle is one i didn`t notice before! maybe there`s no need for any Ka-ChaKa in a cah-preena?

  • Boavida says:

    Well, after doing 11 jugs of Caipirinha yesterday (in this case Caipiroska), i just discovered that the American Bartending School must be thinking of a diferent cocktail, since the only thing the Caipirinha and this cocktail have in coumon is the use of limes (I don’t count the Cachaça, since he really didn’t used it).
    And by the way, from someone that has portuguese as a first language, he didn’t pronounce it right.

  • chuck says:

    I have just spent the last hour watching a bunch of these clips. Its like watching a bad horror movie, you want to turn it off but just cant.

  • Chuck says:

    At least there were no boogers in this one.

  • Wesly Moore says:

    Ka-Chaka Khan? Ka-Chaka Khan! I feel for you.

  • Phil says:

    That was just painful.

  • Jay Hepburn says:

    This man is my hero, and I so want one of these t-shirts.

  • Marcel says:

    Man that guy is an idiot! You should watch the other ones! They are priceless!

    you guys should watch this one too : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ywtTiA_h9Y It’s a classic here in holland! I just love the handles of the bottles! 😛

  • Maverick (San Diego Mike) says:

    I’ve thinking of looking for a new career. I was just sitting around with my RIO, Goose, and we thought rather than call the Truck Driving School on the matchbook we’d call American Bartending School instead. We can be a fully qualified bartender in 1 or 2 weeks. Thanks for the tip Jeffrey!

    ~ Mav

    P.S. Though, I think the ABS twist would be to pick your nose for 10 seconds and wipe it on the end of the bat before expertly mashing the green things.

  • Daniel says:

    Wicked awesome, Jeffrey. I’m gonna make one right now!

  • Ross says:

    Man…. if I ever need to feel better about myself and the drinks I butcher, I can always rely on my pals at the American Bartending School to perk me right back up again!

    Thanks for this, Jeffrey!

  • Karama Billick says:

    Thanks Jeff, this is what we’re going to be left
    with if all the good guys keep moving north. Wow, I didn’t know I could learn to do what you do in a week or two! You keep saying that you’ve worked on your skills for years and are still learning… You just didn’t have this guy for an instructor…LOL.

  • Karama Billick says:

    Thanks Jeff, this is what we’re going to be left
    with if all the good guys keep moving north. Wow, I didn’t know I could learn to do what you do in a week or two! You keep saying that you’ve worked on your skills for years and are still learning… You just didn’t have this guy for an instructor…LOL.

  • Gonçalo says:

    … America still is the land of opportunities.

    … ka-cha-ka-dot-com.

  • Jeff Frane says:

    I just got home with a bottle of that Boca Loca stuff and was going to piss it away on your cocktail. But I picked up a bunch of limes and this looks way easier.

    Oh, crap. No sweet and sour mix. Maybe I can use 7Up.

  • Tokyo Tea says:

    Ha! That guy is a bigger tool than his muddler! Hey Jeffrey, he kinda reminds me of that neurotic geezer that does the furniture commercials with the off-centered toupe here in Eugene. You know, “Come SEE me!”. Always classic!

  • Chris Bailey says:

    How are they and this guy simply not embarrassed by this?

    I like the “I like it, tasty” – on the flip side if you actually tasted what you just made…

  • John Claude says:

    That was without a doubt the exact same bottle.

  • Josh says:

    He should have had a kapreena before the video to calm the shakes.

  • Matt – Mmmm, that’s terrific bass!

    Paul – Yes. Yes, it was.

  • Ka-ChaKa? Wasn’t he the simian sidekick on TV’s Land of The Lost?

  • Matt says:

    I can’t watch this guy without thinking of this: http://tinyurl.com/43jcm8

  • rowley says:

    Brought back from where? Brassiere?
    Priceless.

  • Jacob says:

    I love the way sweet and sour mix is the default garnish for these guys. No drink is complete without it… even a drink that has lime and sugar as two of its three ingredients.

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