Sipping through a straw may seem a little too playful for cocktail hour, especially in the cultivated setting of Upper Lake’s Blue Wing Saloon. After a certain age — and with certain beverages — the vessel is just a bit too far out of character.
But Nick Bruce-Boehler’s take on the caipirinha almost requires a straw. Without, it is just an enjoyable, fresh summer cocktail. With, the NorCal Caiper dances between the bite of citrus, the peril of rum and the rough hewn sweetness of raw sugar, approaching each element yet denying its embrace.
“You have to drink through the straw, otherwise the nuance is lost,” Bruce-Boehler said.
Although muddled with appropriate force, petulant raw sugar crystals resist the urge to twirl with the other ingredients. They sulk near the bottom of the glass, denying their earthy sweet company.
The straw draws them to the party, where flecks of sugar temper the sharp blade of lime, deepen the hue of rum and balance the splash of soda.
Oh, Bruce-Boehler may insist — as he does — that “the core of the drink is getting the sugar broken down,” but the NorCal Caiper depends upon that final touch, when a bartender places that straw.
Caiper references the classic Brazilian cooler of cachaca, lime and sugar known as the caipirinha. The Blue Wing manager substituted silver rum and added a little effervescence. Yes, he could have listed it on the menu as a caipirissima, Bruce-Boehler remains something of a purist.
“I played with the name a bit because I don’t have the traditional sugar,” he explained.
No matter — the NorCal Caiper is a delicately balanced cocktail with a cool, cleansing edge. Light and brisk, it is suited beautifully for the summer heat around the lake. The outcome of all that muddling, of the fresh lime and murky sugar, is a sipping drink that reveals little of the alcohol coiled within.
“It’s a little dangerous,” Bruce-Boehler said with a smile.
And that’s something difficult to believe when you put down the straw and revel in the bright, tropical expression.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
