Pour this glass of sunshine into a Ralph Lauren Home Bentley double old-fashioned ($120).
While most of us enjoy the comforts of our living rooms during chilly Boston winters, 7News-CW56 anchor and reporter Janet Wu is braving ice and snow. “By the time January rolls around, I’ve been out in three Nor’easters and I am so done with the weather!” she exclaims. No wonder her choice for a winter cocktail transports her back to the sultry beaches of Brazil.
After visiting the South American country twice in one year, Wu says she longed for a caipirinha, the national drink of Brazil. Made with cachaça, a cousin of rum distilled from pressed sugar cane juice, the caipirinha is a cross between a mojito and a margarita. Wu and her college pals concocted their own version of the cocktail after deciding to stay in one night during a storm. “We were reminiscing how the New England winters helped us study hard and get through school.” Called the Brazilian Blizzard, their citrusy mix uses fresh blood oranges (in season this time of year), offering a healthy dose of vitamin C and a refreshing taste of the tropics.
“My friends and I love warm weather, and after a busy holiday we tend to have January parties as a way to escape the winter blues,” she says. No whine and cheese here—the star of the show is Wu and her happy, sunshine-inspired winter warmer, the Brazilian Blizzard.
Janet Wu’s Brazilian Blizzard
2 oz. Leblon cachaça
1 tbsp. of sugar (or more to taste)
2 wedges of lime
1 wedge of lemon
1 peeled wedge of blood orange (or 3/4 oz. blood orange purée)
Splash of soda
Place lime, lemon, and blood orange wedges in the bottom of a shaker. Add sugar and muddle until the juice is extracted. Add cachaça, fill the shaker with ice, and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Pour the entire contents into a glass, adding more ice if needed. Add a splash of soda and serve with a straw.
