In Pernambuco the rivers run towards the Atlantic through cane fields that have been there since colonial times. Down in the water lives a small freshwater prawn the locals call pitu. It gave the house its name, and it still sits there in bright red on every single label.
The expert's description
Cachaca Pitu Do Brasil Premium Brasil Spirit is an unaged Cachaca made from freshly pressed sugarcane juice in Pernambuco in north-eastern Brazil and bottled at 38%.
The company was founded in 1938 in Vitória de Santo Antão, an old sugar town inland from Recife. The name comes from Engenho Pitu, the sugar estate where it all began, and the prawn in the river named first the estate and later the spirit. Pitú is today the largest cachaca exporter in Brazil, and for a great many drinkers this bottle is the first cachaca they ever held.
Cachaca is made from the juice of the cane, pressed and fermented while it is still fresh. Rum works the other way round and generally starts from molasses, the heavy syrup left behind once the sugar has been drawn out. Two different starting points, two different flavour pictures: the cachaca keeps the field in it, while the rum tastes of the refinery.
Pitú is a clear cachaca with no time in wood. There is no cask to round the edges off, so the raw material stands right at the front: green cane juice, a dry peppery note and the faintly soapy floral edge typical of the style. The house names three things as the whole of its production, the cane, the water and the yeast, and that recipe has run unchanged for decades.
Tasting notes
Nose
Freshly pressed cane, close to biting into a raw stalk. A light floral tone sits behind it, along with a hint of wet stone.
Palate
Dry and direct. The cane juice arrives first with a green, almost grassy sweetness, then the alcohol takes hold with black pepper and a sharp mineral edge.
Finish
Short and clean. The pepper drops away quickly and what remains is a dry, green tone with enough backbone to stand up to lime and sugar.
Specifications
Name: Cachaca Pitu Do Brasil Premium Brasil Spirit 70 cl 38%
Distillery: Pitú
Region/Country: Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, Brazil
Type: Cachaca
ABV: 38%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Made from freshly pressed sugarcane juice
EAN no.: 4000269003428
Serving suggestion: In a Caipirinha with lime and cane sugar, or in a Batida shaken with fresh fruit juice
Flavour profile
Green · Sugarcane · Fresh · Peppery · Dry
Did you know?
Pitú makes more than cane spirit. Since 2007 the house has also had its own vodka, Bolvana, on the books, and over the years a lime expression and a cola version have come out of the plant in Vitória de Santo Antão as well.
See our full range of Cachaca
