Leblon Light Cachaca

I was nervous when I smelled this bottle after opening it. The first straight shot was different. The taste and smell is far different from a standard rum. It grew on me and I downed half the bottle one night. No ill effects the next day all natural for sure. A great choice for straight up shots and can be mixed with very little for a fantastic drink. If you want to try something different go for this!

This one is a little harsher than mae de ouro but a little fruitier and makes a better capairinha. For a much cheaper price Ypioca or 51 will make as good a mixer but are not as good if you want to sip occasionally.

One thing that is bothering me - I see people giving this low ratings of 2-4 because they don't like cachaca. That is not fair, a rating should be based on quality not on your personal preference.

Smooth cachaca, reminds me of actually being in Leblon, which is a cool part of Rio.

Good cachaca to start with.

Here in the USA, true artisanal Brazilian cachaca is hard to come by. I've had a special order in for 2 other light cachacas for almost a month now and 1 was denied as it isn't offered by the importer anymore and the other is Salinas which hasn't arrived and is still offered by a large import conglomerate so, I don't know what the issue is. Anyway, I've been reading about cachaca and Leblon seems to be a recipe targeted for American consumption. This bugs me and I've gone out of my way to try to obtain an authentic model of which to base my nose and palate on. However, my impatience and frustration got the best of me and Leblon went on sale so, here we are. The "sale" price was still $24.99. For an unaged sugar cane distillate, that is premium territory IMO. Of course it came with the plastic muddler as to suggest a sole intended purpose, Caipirinhas.
Let's get to it. The bottle pops nice and loud and I immediately gave it a curious whiff. Yep... its vegetal,musty and peppery with a little black olive, cooked zucchini or squash and a little rubber tinge and slight breath of vanilla yogurt. Not much astringency on the nose which was pleasant. In the glass there is no missing that hefty bouquet but did seem to calm down quite a bit. In the mouth it is a light and watery but not overly so. It is pleasantly creamy as well. I immediately get a hint of sweetness and peppery-vegetal-grassiness that seemed quite relaxed compared to the strong nose. There was a little lemon and black olive on the back end that led to a crisp finish with minimal and refreshing warmth. I really thought the flavor was going to be much more vegetal as the nose suggested however, to my delight it was much more rounded. This was both lightly savory and lightly sweet. It makes great caipirinhas. I also made some where I cut back the Leblon 1/2 oz and substituted Wray and Nephew overproof white rum and made killer caipirinhas! Hopefully my other cachaca will come soon and I can get a better perspective. I say give it a try if the price is right.
***EDIT***
I've added 1 more star because I've now bought a second bottle. It just pairs with the Wray and Nephew overproof white rum so well. Cheers!

Better than your Sagatiba's but nothing particularly special. Fine for a Caipirinha.

This cachaca is really good when you are making mix drinks caiphirinhas. Not good by itself is very aromatic and you can taste the anise on it.

This is a little different, with a bit of a citrus flavor and a taste of grain.

I think it's pretty nice. Strong banana funk flavor.

Exceptionally clean flavour, slightly earthy and aromatic. Perfect for any Cachaca occasion