THE SPIRIT OF BRASIL

Known as the official Brazilian spirit, there are over 2000 words used to refer to Cachaça such as Tiger’s Breath, Holy Water, Heart Opener and Wisdom Water. Produced exclusively in Brasil, Cachaça is a geographically protected name. To be considered an authentic Cachaça, the spirit must be distilled in Brasil using fermented fresh sugarcane juice and contain between 37% to 53% ABV.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

In the early 16th century, Portuguese settlers introduced sugarcane into Brasil after switching sugar production from the Madeira Islands to Brasil. By 1532, the first alembic stills were introduced along with distillation know-how from Europe. Records suggest that one of the first distilleries was established in the city of Santos, where founders of Fubá Cachaça are originally from.

The RISE OF CACHAçA

The crystal clear fiery water took over rapidly, appealing to all tiers of the colonial society. Cachaça production predates the first recorded rum production by a few decades. The modern day Cachaça market is one of the biggest in terms of volume with over 1.5 billion litres being consumed each year.

REVOLTS

Cachaça is believed to be the first spirit to be distilled in the Américas, predating the birth of rum, pisco and tequila. The drink became so popular in Europe that heavy taxes were imposed on the importation of the spirit in order to protect European distillers. Such high taxes prompted the “Cachaça Revolt” in 1660, where Brasilian producers caused panic and riots on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

ThE AGAPITO FAMILY

The Agapito brothers were born in Santos, a coastal town south of São Paulo, where the first Cachaça distillery was set up almost 500 years ago. After traveling through Europe at the age of 19, Rafael moved to Ireland where he developed the love for working in hospitality and creating cocktails. After a decade managing a range of bars, Rafael set up a hospitality consulting business, where he helped develop some of Ireland’s top venues. Rafael is the co-founder of Onda Cocktail Room in Lisbon.

ThE BIRTH OF FUBÁ

Cassiano offered to send Rafael a few bottles of a very special Cachaça that he had come across in Brasil. Rafael proposed a partnership to the distiller and develop a brand created for the international market. The core idea was to develop and export a Cachaça that was traditionally handcrafted in small batches, a perfect ingredient for cocktails and had a reasonable pricetag. By June 2011, Fubá was launched in Ireland and soon became the best selling Cachaça in the country.

PRODUÇÃO

HARVEST

Sugarcane stalks are harvested by local farmers and brought to our distilling centre for processing and pressed within 24 hours from harvest to ensure the freshest sugarcane juice is used.

DISTILLATION

The magic starts when our secret recipe is added as a fermenting agent. Yeast cells eat up the sugars contained in the juice and convert them into alcohol, turning the juice into cane wine at around 12% ABV.

BOTTLING

After creating a base spirit at 25% ABV, we distill a second time. We then filter out the impurities of the distillate and lower the ABV from 63% to 40% before being bottled.