Leblon was the first cachaca that was available at my local liquor store. It's clearly an entry level cachaca, but it holds up pretty well in cocktails (especially a Caipirinha). It does tend to be a bit too sweet for my liking, but for the money it's a solid value. You can tell this will be sweet from the nose, which also has hints of pineapple. The palate is heavy on the sweetness, with a bit of lime peel, grassy notes, oak and pepper. The finish fades quickly and while there is a bit of spice, the sweetness tends to dominate. Leblon is meant to be drunk in a cocktail. I would suggest other brands if you plan to drink cachaca neat (such as Avua or Novo Fogo), but if you just plan to make cocktails with it, this one is worth having around.
About this bottle
Master Distiller Gilles Merlet approaches the distillation of Leblon’s ubiquitous flagship cachaça as if it were a fine French wine. Freshly-cut sugarcane is gently pressed, then the juice is fermented for 20-24 hours and distilled in alembic copper pot stills. The cachaça rests for up to six months in XO cognac casks from France.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 23 parsed reviews.
Grassy and tequila-ey as has been noted. It should make a dandy Paloma. Although inexpensive it’s way better than ‘well’ cachaças like Pitú. Leblon is from Minas Gerais, which according to my Brazilian friends is a basic requirement for drinkable cachaça. It’s nice with a splash of curaçao and one of those big spherical ice balls. I’m going to mix a Maria Sangrenta or three this weekend.
Starts with lots of tequila-like fruit and finishes with vanilla and raisin. The finish reminds me of Appleton rum, but softer. Delicious to me straight, and complex enough to still be a presence in a caipirinha. Think this would be delicious with some ginger beer or in a margarita.
A very interesting spirit. There was hints is sugarcane but it wasn’t very sweet. Some bitterness. But mostly a vegetal quality. Cooked asparagus. Wilted grass. On the aroma there was hints of plantain. Unripe banana. But lost that on the flavor. Still good. Despite how it sounds.
"Grassy" is certainly the operative word here. Sugary, vanilla, syrupy, leafy, herbal, tangy, and with a huge white grape character--but grassy is the dominant note. No one in their right mind would sip this neat, but it really does make for a superb caiparinha.
An intense, Cachaça from Brazil crafted from pure sugar cane juice. It has an aromatic birth with notes of sugar cane & earth while a complex life led to a long & bold death. November 2016 / June 2017
17 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
