Story
Santo Grau Cachaça was created from a rigorous selection of the most traditional and smaller historical mills in the country. Valuing each origin and its history, the brand counts on the traditions passed down from generation to generation through alembic masters and their families. Santo Grau Cachaças have artisanal processes of production, which follow the traditions of each producing region. Starting with planting, milling and careful harvesting of the sugarcane, and using methods of traditional fermentation using natural yeast. In distillation, made in copper stills heated by manually controlled fire, on average 15% of the initial volume of fermented sugarcane juice is utilized, the supersum of the Heart of Cachaça.
Terroir
The name “terroir” is of French origin and indicates that the product is derived from and belongs to a particular region. It is a guarantee that the drink is produced with all the characteristics and conditions of the land. Account is taken of geology, topology, climate, and especially the people involved in the production.
Santo Grau believes that terroir goes beyond this description. The secret of a good cachaça is in the tradition handed down from generation to generation through the art of the alembic masters and their families. Precisely because of this, all the mills carry these values.
Our mills
Coronel Xavier Chaves – Minas Gerais
The oldest in operation in Brazil, Colonel Xavier Chaves’s mill had its first official productions in 1755 and since then it guarantees cachaça year by year without fail. Acquired by the family of the historical figure of Tiradentes, the farm has passed from generation to generation. Today, the 8th generation of the family remains involved in the administration of the mill, under the direction of Nando Chaves.
Colonel Xavier Chaves’ mill is responsible for the production of two Santo Grau cachaças. The Clássica Santo Grau Coronel Xavier Chaves, and the special Santo Grau Séc XVIII cachaça.
Paraty – Rio de Janeiro
Paraty’s mill, located on the edge of the Serra do Mar, run by the Mello family, is currently under the command of Eduardo Mello, heir to five generations of master alembics who have been producing cachaça in Paraty since 1803.
Paraty’s mill is responsible for the production of six Santo Grau cachaças. The Clássica Santo Grau Paraty, the aged Santo Grau Reserva Paraty of the Reserva line, and custom-made for the bar chain Pirajá.
Itirapuã – São Paulo
In the interior of São Paulo, the Itirapuã mill keeps with the tradition and craftsmanship of being powered by a water-wheel since 1860. Under the diligent care of the Figueiredo Cristófani family, the face of the mill for four generations.
The Itirapuã mill is responsible for the production of four Santo Grau cachaças. The Clássica Santo Grau Itirapuã, the aged Santo Grau Reserva Itirapuã, of the Reserva line and, of the Cachaças Raras de Engenho line, the Santo Grau Solera Cinco Botas and the Santo Grau Solera Pedro Ximenes.
Production
Produced from controlled raw material, with wisdom and secrets passed from generation to generation in the three families responsible for the different mills, each cachaça has its own characteristics of the regions. The sugar cane harvest is done manually, without burning or using chemicals in the plantations.
To avoid contamination, the sugarcane has no contact with the soil, being milled in the 24 hours after cutting, using mills powered by waterwheels. The fermentation is natural and is performed slowly and gradually in order to achieve the best results. Once fermented, the liquid is passed on to small capacity copper stills for the distillation process. Only the heart of cachaça – the noblest part of sugarcane distillation – is used.
Extreme rigor at every stage of the production process, from cultivation and cutting of the sugarcane, through milling and slow and natural fermentation until the resting of the drink, results in cachaça of exceptional quality, taste, and with great aromatic richness.
Origins of Cachaça
Santo Grau has Brazilian flavor in its roots. Made with ingredients and methods typical of the region of each of its mills and with the care that only the artisanal method allows, Santo Grau is the legitimate cachaça of origin. It bears on its labels the DOCG seal, or Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita.
This means that the cachaça is produced according to local traditions, be the natural, historical or human. It is the guarantee that the drink served in your glass is the traditional and unique Santo Grau.
