The Caipirinha’s origin story, though still debated, seems to take us back to early 20th century Brazil, in the sugarcane fields of São Paulo. While it's celebrated now as a party drink, its inception was far more medicinal. It’s believed sugarcane farmers would mix lime, garlic, and honey with cachaça—a Brazilian distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice—to ward off the Spanish flu. Over time, the garlic and honey exited stage left, making way for sugar to enter the scene, and the modern Caipirinha was born.