Quentão

I learned how to make this by watching Eduardo Mendonça of Show Brazil! make it at a São João celebration near Seattle. I had a summer cold at the time, and when I tasted it, I knew I had the right medicine for anything that ailed me.

1 C cachaça (you can substitute light rum or even vodka)
1 lime, sliced thinly
1/2 C water
1 t cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Small piece of ginger
3 T white sugar
First, carmelize the sugar in a heavy saucepan. Then very slowly and carefully add the water to deglaze it. Stir in the other flavorings and simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and add the liquor. Be careful not to burn your mouth — carmelized sugar is dangerously hot.

Here are a couple of easier versions:

1 C cachaça or rum
1 lime, thinly sliced
1/2 C water
4 cloves
3-inch cinnamon stick
Superfine sugar to taste
Bring to boil, strain and serve.

1 C boiling water
2 T honey
1 t superfine sugar
1 T minced mint
2 cloves
2-inch stick cinnamon
1 C cachaça or rum
Boil everything but liquor for 10 minutes. Strain, add cachaça.

An alternative cold medicine, and probably healthier because it has no alcohol, is my spicy cough and cold remedy

Alternate search keywords: Cachaca, quentao.