Ingredients
Base
- 200 gcaster sugar
- 80 gfresh ginger, peeled and sliced into coins
- 1 litrewater
- 6cloves
- 3cinnamon sticks
- Peel of 1 orange, in wide strips
- Peel of 1 lime, in wide strips
- 1star anise (optional)
Spirit
- 500 mlcachaça
To serve
- Thick heatproof cups or enamel mugs
Directions
- Put the sugar in a wide heavy pan over medium heat with no water and let it melt undisturbed, swirling the pan rather than stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes.
- When it turns the colour of dark honey and smells nutty, add the ginger coins straight into the caramel. It will hiss and seize; keep going.
- Pour in the water carefully at arm’s length, then add the cloves, cinnamon, star anise and both citrus peels.
- Simmer uncovered over low heat for 20 minutes, until the caramel has fully dissolved, the liquid is amber, and the ginger heat is sharp on the tongue.
- Pour in the cachaça and bring back to just below a simmer — bubbles at the edge only. Hold it there 5 minutes to marry the flavours.
- If you want the drink milder, hold it at that near-simmer 15 minutes uncovered, which drives off part of the alcohol; for a full-strength quentão, take it off after 5.
- Taste and adjust: it should be hot, sweet, sharply gingery and clearly alcoholic, in that order.
- Ladle into thick cups through a small strainer, leaving the spices in the pot, and serve steaming with a piece of orange peel in each cup.
Technique
- Quentão is a Festa Junina drink, made in a big pot over a fire in the middle of a June winter party alongside canjica and pamonha. It is never served cold.
- Do not boil it hard after the cachaça goes in. A rolling boil strips the alcohol and, more importantly, turns the sugarcane aroma flat and syrupy.
- Making a real caramel first rather than just dissolving sugar is what gives quentão its bitter-edged depth instead of tasting like sweet ginger tea.
Substitutions
- In the south of Brazil, particularly Rio Grande do Sul, quentão is made with red wine instead of cachaça — use 750 ml of a light red and halve the sugar.
Variations
- Some cooks add a knob of ginger grated raw at the end for extra bite.
- A children’s version, quentão sem álcool, replaces the spirit with apple juice and doubles the ginger.
History
Drunk around bonfires at the June festas juninas; the name means big hot one.
Frequently asked questions
What is Quentão?
Quentão is a cocktail from Brazil: hot cachaça mulled with ginger, cloves, cinnamon and sugar. Drunk around bonfires at the June festas juninas; the name means big hot one.
How long does Quentão take to make?
Quentão takes 10 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Quentão?
Yes, within limits. In the south of Brazil, particularly Rio Grande do Sul, quentão is made with red wine instead of cachaça — use 750 ml of a light red and halve the sugar.
What is the most important thing to get right in Quentão?
Put the sugar in a wide heavy pan over medium heat with no water and let it melt undisturbed, swirling the pan rather than stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes.
