Quentão – Brazilian Grog Cocktail
Oi Gente!
This Brazilian grog cocktail is a fantastic hot drink to have around the fire on a cold night. It’s sweet and dangerously delicious, gets this beautiful color from caramelized sugar, and it can be made with cachaça Brazilian rum or any other rum you like! – Recipe makes 5 cups, easily doubled!
Looking for other Brazilian cocktails to try this Holiday Season? Check out my Brazilian Spiked Hot Chocolate – it’s one of our family favorites!
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Quentão – A classic Brazilian hot cocktail
Brazilian grog cocktail, or quentão de cachaça is a classic Brazilian hot cocktail made with sugar, cachaça Brazilian Rum, citrus fruit and spices. Quentão, pronounced kẽnˈtãw, is a very popular drink during the cold “caipira” Festas Junina months.
If you haven’t heard of Festas Juninas, check out this post where I talk a little bit about them. Basically, Festas Juninas are festivals that started as religious parties, and then became a cultural celebration of rural life through food, clothing, music and lots of dancing. They’re so incredibly fun!!
Here are other classic Festa Junina Recipes you’ll love: Canjica, Caldo Verde Recipe, Chocolate Quente, Tapioca, Pão de queijo!
The word quentão means very hot, and this sweet Brazilian grog cocktail is exactly that. One sip and you’ll feel the intense heat coming from the warm cachaça combined with the spices. It’ll warm up your bones in no time, amigos!
This is the perfect drink for gathering around with loved ones, as one pot makes about 5 servings, and the recipe can easily be doubled and tripled and so on.
Cozy up, make a fire, or just grab some blankets, and enjoy a hot mug-full of this sweet Brazilian grog cocktail.
Cheers, or as we say in Portuguese, saúde!!
Beijinhos xx
Brazilian Grog Recipe Tips
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Step 1 – Prepare the fruit! Peel the orange and lime with a vegetable peeler. You can also cut a few orange and lime slices to serve along with the drink. In addition to the citrus, I like to serve my quentão with apples as well, even though they aren’t a traditional ingredient. I just love how they look!!
Step 2 – caramelize the sugar and add the orange and lime peels and spices.
Step 3 – slowly add in the water to the caramelized sugar to dissolve it. Then bring it to a boil and let it simmer 10-15 minutes to bring out the flavors of the fruit peels and spices.
Step 4 – add the rum and bring to a simmer. After you add in the rum, be sure to not let the liquid boil anymore so that the alcohol doesn’t evaporate. A gentle simmer is enough to warm everything up and you should be good.
Step 5 – then, turn off the heat, and let the mixture steep like a tea for another 10-15 minutes. This will ensure that your Brazilian grog cocktail absorbs all the delicious flavors from the fruit and the spices, without losing much alcohol.
Serve it hot in mugs with slices of fruit!
Cheers, or as we say in Portuguese, saúde!!
Other winter cocktails with rum:
More Brazilian Cocktails you’ll love:
Batida de Coco – Brazilian Coconut Cocktail
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Quentão – Brazilian Grog Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- 3 cups Cachaça or any other white rum
- 1 orange peels plus slices for garnish
- 1 lime peels plus slices for garnish
- 1 apple sliced
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 inch piece of ginger, smashed
- 1 star anise optional
Instructions
- Add the sugar to a medium to large soup or stockpot over medium heat and heat it until the sugar is caramelized into a light gold syrup.
- Add the ginger, the spices and the fruit peels, then slowly add the water stirring constantly to combine and break any sugar lumpls that may form.
- Let that mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Add in the cachaça, and bring to a low simmer and remove from heat – do not boil, otherwise the alcohol will evaporate. Let it sit covered about 15 minutes.
- Pour into mugs, and serve with fruit slices.
I’m so glad I have some cachaca on my bar right now! This is getting made this weekend.
Aline, this is such a gorgeous cocktail! A friend of mine is having a gathering tomorrow and now I know what I’m going to take!
Hey Adri, thats great! I hope your friends loved it!!
This looks so warm, spicy and delicious! This looks like an awesome Brazilian version of a Hot Toddy! I can’t wait to try it!
I love your recipes. I would love to try this recipe but unfortunately I can’t due to the rum as an ingredient. Can I substitute something else with rum?
Hi Halima!
You can just try to omit it, and make a sweet aromatic tea instead – just add more water in place of the rum. Alternatively, I found this non-alcoholic rum alternative on Amazon (affiliate link). I haven’t tried it so have no idea if it’s any good LOL but it’s the only type of alternative I could find.
Hope this helps,
Aline xx
These photos are gorg and the recipe is amazing!
I love a good cocktail and this perfect for the cold weather now!!! ❤️🍷
Yes Please to this Grog Cocktail!!! I will definitely be giving it a try and luckily I already have all the ingredients!
Yeah girl!! You’ll love it!!
I could totally use this now with the cold weather, and not to mention it’s just gorgeous!
I know – this color is stunning!! I love it too!!
This is right on time for the holiday season! Thank you for sharing!
I don’t know that i ever had a hot cocktail outside of being sick (toddy). But this sounds really good. Gonna give it a try.
Talk about a seriously cozy cocktail! It’s so delicious, and I definitely plan on making this grog all winter long. So tasty!
haha Yes!!! So happy you liked it, Amanda!
Curling up with a blanket in front of a fire with this cocktail is just what winter has been calling for.
I can already feel the warmth with this flavorful cocktail. Awesome combinations to making this so perfect.
I love hot cocktails in the winter and this grog cocktail is great.
This is our new favorite winter cocktail! We’ve tried grogs before, but this one with the caramelized sugar is the best!
Woohoo!!! So happy to know, Pam!! I, too, love the color and how sweet they are!! Glad you love it!! xx
WOW! your photos are so beautiful! And I love this cocktail recipe.
This is absolutely new to me. Looks wonderful and soothing too. I am trying this today since I have all the ingredients.
Awesome, Gunjan! I hope you enjoyed it! xx
This Brazilian Grog is a beautiful cocktail and perfect for this time of year.
I love this…it’s a perfect winter cocktail…soothing and warm for the season. Definitely worth a try!
Made these holiday cocktails all holiday season long, and never need another holiday season cocktail again! So warming, so wonderful, and perfect for my holiday cocktail cravings.
Oi Candice!!! That’s so awesome!!! Thanks for letting me know you loved it!! xx