Drinks of Valencia

I just got from a weekend trip to Valencia, Spain with my work colleagues (see travelogue in my other blog). I had a great time: beautiful city, nice weather, friendly locals, and of course great food and drinks at reasonable prices. So let me start with the drinks:

This is the delish Agua de Valencia which we had at a bar in the old city area. A concoction of freshly squeezed orange juice with sparkling wine (champagne or Cava) and spirits - Cointreau or gin or vodka or all three of them. Served very cold with ice - very nice! I looked up the recipes in the Internet but there are a lot of variations. Some with sugar, some with half orange and half sparkling wine. Here's something to start with and you can always add and subtract according to your taste.

Agua de Valencia

250 ml sparkling wine (Champagne or Cava) - well chilled
750 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
80 ml spirit (Cointreau or vodka or gin)
2 Tbsp sugar (brown or white)
ice cubes

1. Combine orange juice, spirit, and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
2. Add in the sparkling wine. Mix.
3. Add ice cubes. Serve.

This one is not Valencian but Brazilian, nonetheless it was very good. Caipirinha (kai-pi-rin-ya) is traditionally made with the Brazilian cachaca but a good vodka may be used as a subtitute. Another nice cold drink to refresh you. I could imagine this is perfect on a hot day in the beach. I watched carefully as the bartender mixed this drink so I'm sure of the prep method and measurements.

Caipirinha

1 lime - quartered
1 Tbsp sugar (brown or white)
30 ml of cachaca (or vodka or white rum)
ice cubes with water

1. Put sugar in an old style glass (also called mixer) - it's a low, round, wide mouthed glass.
2. Add the quartered lime. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or a wooden pestle, mash the lime in the glass just enough to release the juice. Do not mash too much or it will taste bitter.
3. Mix in the cachaca and stir.
4. Add the ice cubes and enough water to fill the glass. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Serve.