Novo Fogo Tanager Cachaca, Brazil

Reclaimed wood gives Novo Fogo Tanager Cachaca, Brazil an unusual path from fresh sugarcane to finished spirit. This organic cachaça is aged in repurposed oak and finished in araribá, or Brazilian zebrawood, salvaged from a demolition project. One of the first two-wood cachaças broadly available in the United States, it takes on a natural red hue and a distinctive earthy, spice-led character.

Product Details:

• Spirit Type: Cachaça
• Base Ingredient: Fresh-pressed sugarcane juice from Novo Fogo’s own organic fields
• Fermentation: Fresh cane juice fermented with wild yeast cultivated from Novo Fogo’s sugarcane; fermentation takes less than 24 hours
• Still Type: Copper pot still
• Maturation: Aged in repurposed oak and finished in araribá, or Brazilian zebrawood, reclaimed from a demolition project
• ABV: 42%
• Filtration: Not chill-filtered
• Producer: Novo Fogo
• Distiller: Dr. Agenor Maccari Jr.

Sensory Description:

The nose brings tropical fruit and fresh-cut grass, followed by cinnamon bark and warm spice. On the palate, ripe fruit meets earthy wood tones, with the zebrawood adding a distinctive, gently bitter edge to the oak’s roundness. The finish is warming and spice-laden, with lingering notes of grass and forest earth.

Awards & Accolades:

• Score: Wine Enthusiast, 95 points, September 2018

Producer’s Background:

Novo Fogo produces cachaça at its organic sugarcane farm and distillery in Morretes, Paraná, within Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Founder Dragos Axinte and his wife Emily partnered with distillery founder Fulgencio Torres Viruel and master distiller Dr. Agenor Maccari Jr.; the brand and distillery businesses merged in 2015. The company’s farm-to-bottle approach includes hand-cut cane, small-batch copper-pot distillation, and a reforestation project focused on threatened native tree species.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve neat at room temperature in a small tulip-shaped tasting glass to explore its layered wood and cane character, or over a large cube in a rocks glass. Its assertive spice also suits a Sazerac variation or a rich batida with passion fruit, coconut, and lime. Pair with grilled pork, smoked meats, or dark chocolate.