National Booze Business - Whiskey and Cachaça

There were letters exchanged this week between U.S. and Brazilian government officials recognizing, in an official manner, the definition of each country's respective booze -  Cachaça from Brazil, Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskeys from America. This move will help protect these liquors from being produced by copycats who, for example, might want to make a quick buck by slapping a "Tennessee Whiskey" label on a bottle of backyard distilled moonshine without following the U.S. laws and regulations pertaining to the manufacture of that fine product and then trying to sell it in Brazil. And the same goes for selling only approved Cachaça in the States.

It was a big coincidence for me that both of these alcohols were in the news, because last month I wrote a poem about them for no other reason than I like the color of lime, and lime is a key ingredient in Caipirinha, Brazil's national cocktail made with Cachaça. I've updated the last line to take these new events into account.

Above the Shadows

Caipirinha,

From the word caipira.

In Brazil

That's the same as hillbilly

In America.

I read it on Wikipedia

How it’s a drink too.

Mostly, that is,

It’s a drink.

Brazil’s national cocktail,

Mulled lime and sugar

With cachaça

On the rocks in an old fashioned glass.

I try to imagine

An American cocktail,

The cocktail of the United States,

The Hillbilly.

American bourbon with an infusion of coffee beans.

A dark concoction, like the back woods where tree shadows clogged

The paths 

and I learned to hang onto the long notes of songs about love gone wrong.

Caipirinha

Light, bright, clean

Crisp

Fun

Above the shadows

Green.

Wash away my hillbilly attitude But are you real?

Can I trust that the ice clinks in a drink that meets all standards and specifications?

Once I sought your delightful, dancing lime peels to lift my spirits,

Now I ponder with furrowed brow the question of your authenticity.

The shadows hang low over my hillbilly attitude.

Peeps!

I'm so happy that my first post on On the Trending List is about Peeps! For millions of people, Peeps is one of the iconic symbols of celebrating good times, in this case, of course, Easter, or the coming of Spring, the season of new beginnings. The first little yellow Peeps chicks that appear on the store shelves each year are enough to bring a smile to my face. It's the same feeling that comes from eating cupcakes with bright sugary sprinkles while playing a tambourine and floating in a cool pool on a hot day as a cloud of a thousand colorful helium balloons sail by overhead. That has never happened to me per se, but I can imagine it, and that's how good those bright yellow Peeps chicks make me feel.

Peeps now come in many bright colors at Easter, and they come in many shapes for other holidays year round. For me, the yellow chicks that I learned to love as a kid are still my favorite. When I was young, I ate them almost as fast as I ripped off the clear wrapping. As I aged, though, I learned patience and with patience I learned that aged Peeps are even more delectable. With a slightly firm outer crust, the textural quality of aged Peeps enhances the experience of biting into them, but should not be considered an indication that Peeps will fulfill even a small fraction of your daily dietary fiber requirements.

While my favorite candy will always be dark chocolate, at this time of year, I reach for Peeps first. If the new chocolate-mousse Peeps make it to a store near me, I might be able to have my Peeps and chocolate, too. When it comes to the feel good factor, however, no candy will be able to rise above that of the original yellow Peeps chicks. I'm not a very religious person, but Peeps sure seem like a little bit of heaven right here on earth, and I don't even want to think about how terrible a place must be that didn't have Peeps.