Caipirinha Recipe per Person

Caipirinha Recipe per Person

A single classic caipirinha runs on the proportion per_person = 50 ml cachaça + 1 tahiti lime + 2 tbsp sugar. Scaling up for a crowd is just a matter of multiplying each ingredient by the head count: total_cachaça (ml) = 50 × guests, limes = 1 × guests, sugar (tbsp) = 2 × guests.

Caipirinha is Brazil’s national drink, formally protected as a Geographical Indication by Decree 6,871/2009. More than anything else, this cocktail is what carried cachaça to drinkers abroad, a push backed by bodies like SEBRAE PB and IBRAC (Instituto Brasileiro da Cachaça). If you want to play with the fruit, the tahiti lime gives way nicely to sicilian lemon, kiwi, strawberry, passion fruit or pineapple.

Applications

Handy when you’re planning a party at home, setting up the mise en place behind a bar, working out drinks for a wedding or corporate event, figuring out how many cachaça bottles to buy (one standard 700 ml bottle makes about 14 caipirinhas), or pricing a catering and beverage budget.

FAQ

Can I use vodka instead of cachaça? Not if you want to call it a caipirinha. Swap in vodka and the drink is legally a caipiroska (or caipivodka); under Brazilian law a caipirinha has to contain cachaça.

How much ice should I add? Roughly 5–6 cubes per glass once you’ve muddled the lime and sugar. The ice doesn’t affect the ingredient ratios.

Tahiti or sicilian lime? Tahiti (Persian lime) is the traditional pick. Sicilian lemon is sweeter, so it gives you a milder, less acidic version.