You can drink high in Rio and you can drink low, and I did both, and in-between too. The promenade along Copacabana, as well as Ipanema and Leblon, has cocktail carts well-spaced out, so by the time you have finished your first expertly mixed Caipirinha, you can order your next. The word Copacabana was derived from the Quechua word copa caguana meaning luminous palace.
If you want to drink high, then the option is not far away, the Copacabana Palace, a Belmond Hotel and an Art Deco masterpiece, is on the other side of the street. As their website explains, the hotel was created during the centennial celebration of Brazilian independence in 1922, when then-president Epitácio Lindolfo da Silva Pessoa wanted to mark the occasion by creating the world’s most luxurious hotel.
Rabo de Galo Liz Cocktail Bar
It is drizzling as I get down from my Uber and wander inside, in search of a cocktail. My options seem to be either Cipriani or Pergula, both ringing the pool. Pergula, which has an al fresco section, gets my vote.
On my arrival in Sao Paulo, a week ago, a local bar owner recommended that I try a cocktail called the Rabo de Galo, essentially a Brazilian version of the Manhattan, where the bourbon gets swapped out for cachaca (Brazilian rum). Since then, on, I have been on the hunt but struck out wherever I go, and the Copacabana Palace is no different. Resignedly I turn to their regular menu. The opening section is titled Brasilidade, and as the name indicates has sought inspiration from the flora and fauna of Brazil.
Jambuzada Sour Explorer Bar
The drink that catches my eye is called Mariola, which uses the local YVY Gin, which I had heard good things about. The other ingredients are bananada (banana) syrup, sour, and ginger foam. It is as served in an Old-Fashioned glass with a ginger candy wafer balanced on the rim. The foam is pleasing to the eye and gingery on the nose, as one might expect. The foam also gives the drink a lovely texture, the interplay of the ginger and the sour with the banana syrup work well, and one never overpowered the other, with the cocktail never succumbing to sweetness.
My next stop for the night is a hole-in-the-wall bar, located just off Copacabana, called Bip Bip, founded by Alfredo Jacinto Mello, a singular figure of Rio samba who passed away in 2019. Bip Bip is a great little jazz bar, that is standing room only. I reach right as it opens, and bear witness as a series of musicians, from across the age spectrum, some with instruments, troop in, and occupy the few chairs lined up in the centre of the bar.
Mariola Pergula Bar
The current owner sits outside, diary in hand. There is a self-service bar located at the end of the room, and it operates on trust. You pour or pick up what you want, come back, and let the owner know and he keeps a running tab that you settle as you leave. The crowd is a floating one, locals and tourists, crowding the sidewalk, bottles of Brahma beer in hand as we listen to some fine Choro and Samba music.
The next day takes me back to the bohemian Santa Teresa neighbourhood. Just two days into Rio, and I am feeling very much like a Carioca, a local. Nevertheless, I still use Google, and a quick search for local cocktail bars leads me to The Explorer, a beautiful bar tucked away in the corner of a small hotel on a hill.
I sit on the verandah, enjoying the balmy weather. It is Happy Hours and I am torn between two drinks, the Hooker’s Mule and the Jambuzada Sour, the latter made with Jambuzada, abacaxi (pineapple) and sour mix. A creamy drink with a peppery aftertaste Jambuzada is Cachaca (Brazilian rum made from sugarcane spirit) infused with the jambu flower. It mildly numbs the mouth, the effect of the jambu flowers from the Amazon.
Intrigued by the taste, I use my Happy Hour allowance to get myself a Jambu Treme next. A Mai Tai in its makeup, it features Jambuzada as a substitute for dark rum. Both cocktails drunk and my steak also consumed, I decide to go for a walk in the neighbourhood and find a cozy little bar with a beautiful view, where I have a last beer for the night.
The next day, I head to Liz Cocktail and Co, which is pretty close to my AirBnb in the leafy and upscale Leblon neighbourhood. The Hollywood-themed menu has a set of cocktail classics. I ask the bartender for something local. If it is a spirit-forward cocktail you like, he says, I can recommend a Rabo de Galo. And lo and behold, on my last night in Rio, my quest is complete.