Everett, Wash.
Published: Sunday, November 2, 2008

Brazil sets rules for its official cocktail

Associated Press

 RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- So how do you make Brazil's national cocktail?

Maybe you'd better call a lawyer.

Brazil's government has published legal guidelines insisting that a caipirinha must be made just so: It's mostly the sugarcane liquor called cachaca. And you can add at least 1 percent crushed lime. But that had better be real sugar in the glass.

The Agriculture Ministry rules published in Friday's official gazette are meant to set "standards of identity and quality" for the drink.
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