a little about us
Aged in oak barrels, Cachaça ZeGrande was born from the idea of a passionate connoisseur of the typical Brazilian drink.
José Renato is dedicated to the art of celebrating life, and he decided to share this light, smooth and exclusive cachaça with friends and other connoisseurs to taste it, which symbolizes the soul of Brazil. Their commitment to quality is as big as their name. Especially because the Zé Grande brand is a tribute to his father, Zé Grande, who is now 85 years old and in good physical shape to taste nectar in moderation.
After all, drinking cachaça is not getting drunk. Enjoying the taste!
Since then, the aroma and unforgettable taste of sugar cane has been present on special occasions for the Brazilian family. And, only after trying Cachaça Zé Grande will it be possible to understand this passion for life.
Cachaça Zé Grande is an artisanal product, distilled in a copper still, and its annual production is limited to 10,000 liters.
The production is made with sugarcane planted and harvested on the farm itself (Fazenda São Domingos) located in the rural area of the Municipality of Buritis - MG. Sugarcane is harvested manually, without burning. Burning the cane for harvesting increases the acidity of the juice and impairs the quality of the cachaça.
In addition, the harvested cane is ground within 24 hours and washed in running water before being processed.
Strict asepsis at all stages of manufacturing is taken seriously. Manual contact in the production of cachaça occurs only in the handling of sugarcane.
From garapa to Cachaça Zé Grande there is no use of chemical additives. Yeasts are typical of sugarcane. The supplement for the formation of the foot of cuba (natural yeast) is broken corn and rice cornmeal.
A picturesque observation about the production process of Zé Grande is the fact that it is the only cachaça in Brazil that is fermented in an environment with a sunroof. That's right, with a movable roof and glass lining, the ideal temperature for the proper fermentation, for the perfect action of the yeasts, it has a little strength of the sun. During the day, the roof moves and lets the sun in and maintains the temperature of the must around 30º, which is ideal for the process of transforming sugar into alcohol. At the end of the day, before sunset, the roof is moved to the normal cover position and prevents the serene from cooling the garapa that will be distilled the next day.
Cachaça Zé Grande is filtered in a filter suitable for copper residues before being stored. It is stored in oak barrels for 18 months.
There is virtually no gradation or flavor correction. In the distillation process, the initial cut (called head) of 5% is made. In this first part, the most volatile alcohols that give you hangovers, headaches and the famous breath are discarded. Afterwards, the heart goes to the graduation limit of 40º at room temperature.
Due to the characteristics of the production process, Zé Grande is starting preparations for certification of origin at the Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária - IMA. After that, you will have the right to use the certificate of the conformity mark and the official certification seals of the state of Minas Gerais.
Cachaça Zé Grande is 100% from Minas Gerais. It's Cachaça, it's from Brazil