Traveling Cowboys: Trying Out New Hat Styles at Calgary's Only Custom Hat Manufacturer, Smithbilt Hats

It's a Fedora

Some people will call just about anything with a brim and a fixed crown a “fedora”. For the purist, a fedora is a felt hat with pinched sides and a lengthwise crease down the crown. It gives the front a familiar wedge-like shape.

One of the big advantages of a fedora and one of the reasons for the style's popularity is the wide flexible brim. Fedora brims are flat with no constructed edge or curl. The brim can be bent up or down as the wearer pleases.

The crown and the brim can both be moulded to the wearer’s taste. It means one can extract a lot of personality from these hats. The shape of the hat always communicates personality. So does the way it is worn. For example, it can be tilted down over the eyes which gives a mysterious "I mean business" look. It can be angled slightly upward for a more open and approachable form.

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We love wearing out Cowboy hats. Brian Hanson from Smithbilt Hats shaped them for us and over the years it's become a part of who we are and a key element of our brand.

There are many practical reasons for wearing a hat and we don't need fashion to convince us to do it. We wear hats because without it we're not dressed properly. It enhances our personality, keep the sun out of our eyes and it means business.

Enhancing personalities with hats is something Smithbilt has done for almost a hundred years. They've done it for many, many celebrities and visitors alike to Canada's largest western city. We are glad to be counted among them and glad that we can support one of the last hat makers in our country.

There's a saying that goes, "Never touch a Cowboy's hat". We are quite happy with ours, so don't even try touching or interfering with the way we look. However, Brian invited us to find out more about some of the other, more contemporary, styles of hats manufactured and shaped by this iconic company. We were introduced to the Baby Grizzly and the iconic Fedora.

If you want to see more of the "newer" style hats we recommend a visit in person to their new more contemporary building. If you cannot make it in person, check out their hat collection and accessories in their recently launched online store.

Observations

We wear hats and we encourage more people to do so. Remember, that when you wear a hat there is an etiquette.

For example, it used to be polite to take your hat off when entering a building, but the loss of hat-check girls (what an era!) and hat racks means this is no longer a rule. No one wants to put a hat that costs hundreds of dollars on a seat a greasy countertop or hold it in your hands trying to go about their business.

Take your hat off when eating. A real cowboy still takes it off in the presence of a lady, or in church. Tip your hat to a gentleman the first time you meet him and to a lady every time you greet her. Tipping your hat to a man thereafter becomes "weird". For a lady, it continues to be a sign of respect.

One last and important rule, never touch another cowboy’s hat. That’s just asking for trouble.

Hendrik van Wyk

Cowboy

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Two Cowboys: In-depth Investigation Into Custom BBQ Use at the Annual BBQ on the Bow Competition in Calgary, AB

Custom Big

We are told that people can't find the tools they need to become prize-winning BBQ pitmasters.

That is why we did an in-depth investigation into the phenomenon of custom BBQ design and constructions at this year's 25th annual KCBS BBQ competition, hosted by Alberta's (possibly, even Canada's) oldest BBQ Society.

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BBQ on the Bow is an annually occurring Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS) sanctioned BBQ Competition and outdoor festival.

It takes place at the Montgomery Community Association (Shouldice Park) during Labour Day long weekend. Their mission is to spread the love, passion, and joy for “southern style” BBQ while simultaneously celebrating and promoting local products, businesses, and musicians. Now you know why the Two Cowboys took an interest. They had us already at BBQ. We also share a similar passion for products, the people that make them and the people that sing about them.

The association was founded in 1993 which, according to Bernie Kenney (VP of the Association) makes it one of the first of its kind in Canada. The BBQ on the Bow was created to jointly promote “Southern BBQ” and Alberta agricultural products of pork, beef, and chicken.

This year it celebrated its 25th year. The event has endured everything mother nature threw at it over the years, be it floods, snow, winds and other storms. It has evolved from a small competition with a  handful of teams to one of Canada’s premier competitions with over 35 teams competing annually.

Forty-five teams competed this year, in spite of a Province wide fire ban, which makes it an event for the record books. It may also be because of the fire ban that so many teams grabbed the opportunity to do some BBQing in a controlled and permissible environment before BBQ withdrawal sets in.

Observations

We are amazed at every competition to see the number of home-grown, self-built BBQ's that make it to competition. The people that take the plunge into constructing a custom smoker machine are seasoned pitmasters or very adventurous engineers.

Big brand name smokers, which are usually in ample supply in such a competition, are often associated with newbies or with teams that managed to get that all elusive sponsorship from a well-known brand or manufacturer. We've heard that some teams are even bribed into merely displaying a big brand name smoker (not necessarily cooking with it) for a small fee. You know who they are because the smokers are all clean, shimmering in the sun and brand new.

The more salted pitmasters have their go-to smokers customized and seasoned over time to meet their particular need or style of cooking. We are told that these smokers have personality. "She's like a woman. If you treat her well, with respect, she will make a BBQ champion of you", a pitmaster proclaimed, which will remain nameless.

One way you know that custom machines are worth their weight in smoke and iron is that they are the tools that show years of wear and tear. These smokers worked and will continue to do so. The meat-fat, grease, and caked on carbon from weeks, months and years of use serve as one-of-kind seasoning that provides a unique and unduplicatable taste to the fare. That is why these smokers end up with names and their teams with the medals.

What makes a BBQ Smoker, good?

If you listen to the champions, some like even heat in the cooker. Others want different temperature profiles on the same machine so that the machine becomes multi-purpose. Some smokers are suited to the purists that cook and smoke with wood. Others are "cheaters" with computer controlled pellet feeders and convection fans.

One fact above all distinguishes a champion pitmaster and his team. It doesn't matter what tools they use. The machine helps, but it is their experience and finely tuned palate that separates them from the rest. They are also the ones busy cooking while the rest are looking.

Hendrik van Wyk

Smoker Cowboy

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Two Cowboys: Simple, Locally Made, Innovative and Durable BBQ Smoker From a BBQ Champion, Calgary, AB

BBQ Experience Counts

Bernie Kenny has spent enough hours, days, weekends and years cooking with fire so that he knows just what is needed to turn in championship quality BBQ and deliciously prepared charcoal cooked fare.

That is why he came up with an ingenious, simple and affordable device to do "everything" BBQ at once. Bernie is the inventor, perfector, and proprietor of the Smokinbox, which is incidentally also the name of his championship winning BBQ Team.

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The Smokinbox is a BBQ grill and a smoker in one. It can even do it simultaneously. According to Bernie, it is easy to clean and very fuel efficient. It has a solution that allows you to cook vegetables, smoke chicken and grill a steak all at the same time, and fast enough so that you can do it after work, during weekdays.

The Smokinbox has been performing well in competitions where competitors use anything from a $150 Weber to the flagship Backwoods Smokers to compete. Amongst the competition, it took first place for ribs at North Battleford competition, in Saskatchewan, and a first and second with two different teams at the Calgary Stampede. It took a third place overall in Edmonton's Porkapalooza with 39 teams. Justifiably, the Smokinbox is turning heads in Canadian BBQ circles for a good reason.

Observations

Why are we so enthusiastic about the Bernie's Smokinbox?

We are interested because it is a product that is passion driven and locally Alberta-made. Bernie has spent his whole life contemplating the perfect BBQ cooking solution, refined it, got his friends involved, and now we have a simple, well-made product that stands out. As with all goods developed from a maker's passions, it is likely to last you your lifetime.

A further reason we are enthusiastic about the Smokinbox is that we BBQ eight out of the seven days of every week. We know the hassle that goes into using charcoal and wood instead of propane. We are aware of the mess, the frustration, the time it takes, the challenges with temperature control and the risks of too much smoke ruining a good piece of meat (or vegetable). Bernie thought of everything.

The single biggest factor for us that makes the Smokinbox a favorite is that we can charcoal cook at different temperatures in one device. It means we can do our vegetables at the warmer end. Our low and slow at the lower end, and still grill a steak right over the coals.

We don't take part in BBQ competitions. Pitching our experience against novices will be unfair. We are not excited about the Smokinbox because it can help us become BBQ champions. We like it, because, for us, every BBQ or Braai as we call it, needs to be perfect. With the Bernie's Smokinbox it becomes so much easier.

We like it so much that we asked Bernie if we can promote it for him. He agreed, so stay tuned for many more stories from our adventures using the Smokinbox for our meals and learning from Bernie how best to BBQ the Canadian Champion way. We hope to impart some "Boere Braai" wisdom as well along the way

Get your Smokinbox here.

Hendrik van Wyk

Braai a Cowboy

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Traveling Cowboys: Smithbilt Hats Enhancing Personalities Since 1919 in Calgary, Alberta

Oldish New Beginnings

Smithbilt Hats recently moved to a new location just down the street from their previously located spot. It is a 120 year old reclaimed and repurposed feed store building from a grain elevator that burned down in the sixties.

The former was incorporated into the new with the rebirth of the building thanks to some architectural ingenuity, perseverance from the builders and an appreciation and time-honored commitment to the classical roots of the business.

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The new building is breathing fresh air into the century-old hat manufacturing business we’ve come to love and admire. It provides additional space for new additions such as a woman’s millinery line and a multi-function room for small events. 

You can still pick your hat and have it shaped or serviced right there by Brian and his team. Because of the addition of a female touch, you can now also get your personality enhanced by accessories that Holly Allen and her team append to your hat. It adds to the unique experience and definitely improves your appearance.

Smithbilt has a strong commitment and connection with the Calgary Stampede. This year, it will be part of the maker’s hall. For the 150th Canada birthday celebration the Stampede is including this new initiative to help showcase the various maker arts and crafts associated with the Western heritage and culture of the show. It will include famous and new artists in buckle making, saddle making, apparel and more. Smithbilt will showcase hat making and demonstrate its unique hat shaping skills right on the floor of the exhibition. You will be able to walk away with your own hand-shaped Calgary-made Western hat.

Observations

Holly made a vital point during our most recent visit to Smithbilt. According to her, in the same way, an accessory completes an outfit, a hat gives a person personality. We were wondering if it is such a powerful contributor to a person’s identity, then surely people should take hat wearing a lot more serious. What you wear on your head and how you wear it tells a big story about you, your history, identity and outlook on life.

We made the discovery that Smithbilt has been giving personality to countless people since 1919. If they can’t help you, then probably, no one can. In our case, we have personality. Our Smithbilt hats are therefore merely enhancing it. That is why we wear ours proudly and with attitude.

Hendrik van Wyk

Enhanced Cowboy

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Two Cowboys: Building a Business on Old-School Values at Canyon Rigging in Calgary, Alberta

Old-School Values

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"Dig your well before you're thirsty."

In today's world, the principles that make commerce successful is obfuscated by unnecessary complexity. It is confused by things people do that masquerade as a business. It is becoming harder and harder to understand what should be done to succeed in any business.

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It is not easy to know anymore what makes a business success or failure. Is it profit, size, social reach, or the preferential ride with taxpayer funded grants and subsidies?

To simplify the conversation, one should note that inherently commerce is a social endeavour. It is the way whereby people co-operate in large groups. It is a fundamental part of any society that let us act and work together for everyone's benefit. When we are better off, we have an increase in resources, health, and safety with luxuries like self-actualization through art, philosophy and music. When commerce is healthy, everyone benefits.

Basic biological instinct and social behaviours may get us by in a small family unit or band, but it falls massively short of helping to construct large cooperative and prosperous societies. Large-scale cooperation is a relatively new phenomenon on the evolutionary scale of our species. And, it is very much needed if we are planning to stick around on this planet for long.

The rules for co-operation remained fluid through the evolution of society. There have been many successes that resulted in prosperity, safety and progress. There have equally been many disasters, which resulted in war, famine and the death of many people. Finding a way to successfully cooperate is an ongoing human endeavour. That is why we should pay attention and learn from our mistakes.

Core and simple principles serve as ground rules for fruitful cooperation, commerce and ultimately for the health of society. These principles also serve as personal values for the people involved in the group. It is the standards by which we behave. It defines what one personally and as a group consider to be important. The same exist in day-to-day business dealings. Strong, constructive and supportive values keep economic cooperation healthy, and everyone should prosper.

What values are needed to succeed in business?

Every successful business person can contribute to a plethora of knowledge about the values that work in their respective organisations and markets. The company profiles you've seen on this site is a minute collection of the successes and wisdom of inspiring entrepreneurs. There are common themes across the stories. One that continues to stand out is the topic of good personal and organisational values. With effective and supportive values a business tends to be more successful overall.

At Canyon Rigging, we've found another inspiring business that puts core and useful values at the heart of everything they do. As a result, they've prospered. They keep on growing even during a massive market downturn in Alberta, Canada. Gregg Hampton, the founder, succeeded in laying a firm principled foundation for the future of the company, its workers, clients and ultimately for their community.

Canyon Rigging is a family business that was started in 1998 in the foothills of Southern Alberta, twelve miles Southwest of Okotoks. They do custom cargo securement and rigging and manufacture some of their products at their factory in Calgary. Gregg, the founder president of the company, has been in the cargo securement and rigging industry since 1978 bringing almost 40 years experience to the enterprise.

Observations

The values that stand out from Gregg and his company are not just values for business, but foundational personal principles for success. Living by these will have a profoundly positive impact on any business and its customers. Here are only a few we picked up during our visit:

• "Advertise what you do, and try and do it well."
• "Do what you say, and say what you do."
• "The key is keeping your word and honouring your commitment."
• "Dig your well before you're thirsty."
• "You can't make a Dollar and spend two. You're gonna be done."
• "When you get, give. When you learn, teach."
• "Good old-fashioned service is the key to success. It shouldn't go out of style."
• "Employ local people. Employees take pride in what they do because they see who they do it for."

Passing the torch on to the next generation is a challenge for any founder. Gregg is busy imparting his knowledge to Dan, his son in law, the same way he received it when he started his business.

There is no chance for his, or any business to make this transition successfully without passing on the values and principles that made the business successful in the first instance. Technologies change. Industries change. Simple business principles and core values are timeless, for any business, and for every society that wants to keep on prospering. We should work hard at living them every day.

Hendrik van Wyk
Rigging Cowboy

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Two Cowboys: Small Businesses and Artisans at the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market 2016 in Calgary, Alberta

Horses and Reindeer

Rudolph is sleeping. That is what we were told when we visited the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market for 2016 on opening weekend. All the other Reindeer were there. They were getting ready for the annual Christmas Night marathon with Mr Clause. Rudolph may not be disturbed. He is preparing in his way. By meditating at Spruce Meadows.

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There isn't much snow around Calgary, Alberta yet. The temperatures are dropping for sure and that means winter is here. It also means that Christmas is near.

The market at Spruce Meadows is one of the biggest in Alberta. At the market, there are more than 250 Artisan vendors that come from as far as Quebec and Nanaimo. They all make their annual pilgrimage to Alberta's Prairie city to tap into the biggest opportunity offered by Canada's fastest growing city. Some consider the market as their significant opportunity for last-minute revenue before Christmas. Call it their Christmas bonus.

The International Christmas Market is held over three weekends. This year it is November 18-20, November 25-27 and December 2-4, 2016.

Hand-Made in Alberta

There were many familiar faces at the market. They are the vendors we've met during our year of covering the area's Farmers' Markets. It is encouraging to see so many of the local producers well represented. Some local producers use the market to launch a new product or new packaging. The agricultural producers like the cheese makers, beekeepers and maple syrup vendors, all bring their products to market after the year's good harvest.

There were also new vendors that launched their products for the first time. A Christmas market is a great opportunity for fledgeling producers to validate their offering. They can give prospective customers a first-hand taste or view of their goods and solicit immediate feedback. It is also they time when they discover just how much work goes into building their businesses.

The Christmas Market is the perfect place to unwind with friends and soak up the festive atmosphere. It is the perfect place to shop, dine and socialise. It is a great opportunity to support our local producers. Spruce Meadows is the ideal venue for the market with lots of indoor space, the agricultural setting, and ample parking.

If there is one item missing from the market it would be our mobile food vendors we encountered all over Alberta's markets. We understand that the weather doesn't always co-operate to have food vendors outside. On the other hand, we've covered amazing food producers that will jump at the opportunity to help feed the thousands of visitors at this market. We are Canadian after all. Who is worried about a little cold?

Calgary may not be the most optimistic city in Canada at the moment due to continuing economic pressures. The market showed little of the recession. While spending may be under pressure in the city, local production is up. People are making more things. Christmas cakes, gloves, chocolate, bags, cheese, perogies, woodcraft, shoe polish, and much, much more. If there are no readily available jobs in the city, there will always be enterprising folk that finds a way.

The Spruce Meadows Market is such a way where you can bring your wares to market, and you can support your neighbour. We are glad we made the trip. We are glad we can meet our friends and neighbours at the market. Most importantly, we are glad that our money spent is going towards helping a neighbour grow his or her local business.

Merry Christmas!

Hendrik van Wyk
Christmas Cowboy

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Two Cowboys: Smithbilt Hats Stepping Forward in Time By Reaching for the Past with Paige1912 in Calgary Alberta

My Hat

There are many practical reasons for covering your head. I am told by Paige Callaway from Paige 1912 that people are finding more reasons to start wearing hats.

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The most obvious reason for wearing a hat is to protect yourself from the sun. Some people stay dry in the rain because of their hats. We know in New Zealand an umbrella is a worthless idea. It rains a lot, and the wind howls most of the time. Umbrellas gets destroyed. Hats work better. With no hair on my top, I prefer wearing a hat in New Zealand for both rain and sun.

A safety hardhat is standard attire on construction and industrial sites all over the civilised world. Many countries make it a law that workers must wear hat protection for safety.

The most important reason why a person would wear a hat has little to do with practicality and everything to do with identity and association. This still seems to be the most fertile frontier for hat designers and manufacturers. For example, hats play an important role in religion.  The rules around hats are endless. Must have a hat on. Must not have a hat on. Must cover your head. Must not cover your head. For example: "A shtreimel (Yiddish שטרײמל, plural שטרײמלעך shtreimlech) is a fur hat worn by many married Haredi Jewish men, particularly (although not exclusively) members of Hasidic Judaism, on Shabbat and Jewish holidays and other festive occasions." (Wikipedia) The same goes for a baseball cap, cowboy hat, and fedora. The list is endless.

There are countless written and unwritten rules about which type of hat, when, where and how to wear it. It is safe to say that a hat is a very personal item. It helps you to associate, and it helps you to differentiate. No two hat wearers wear a hat the same way. The simple way you wear your hat can speak volumes about your personally and outlook in life. It sends off non-verbal signals that are interpreted at a subconscious level.

Therefore, you should choose your hat carefully. You should wear it consciously. Like most clothing items it says a lot about you. (By the way, for those that don't wear hats, it says something about you too.)

Smithbilt Hat Service

We checked in with Brian at Smithbilt for our second instalment of this great business. We needed to get our hats serviced and also to learn more about caring for them.

While there, Brian demystified the bunkhouse roll for us. No, not that kind of roll you do after a hard day of work and a few bourbons. Rather, it happens when your hat's shape changes and it curls at the back or the edges. The reason? Hats have a memory. It takes the shape of how it is used.

Always “rest” your hat with the crown on the bottom. The crown is stiffer than the brim and tends to hold its shape better. If you lay your hat flat on the table the edges curl. It is prone to happen more in warmer and humid weather (heat is used to shape the hat). This is if you must rest it. Your hat should rather be on your head.

There is another reason you must store your hat with the crown at the bottom. "Else, your luck runs out." according to Brian. Well, there you have it. Simple things to do to look after your hat and your future.

We've had enquiries from as far as South Africa on how to get a Smithbilt hat. Brian is old-school. He likes to have your head with him when he sells you a hat. It has something to do with him helping you with your personally and with sizing. However, if you cannot make the trip, you can order it online and keep your fingers crossed you've chosen the right one: Do it here: https://smithbilthats.com/home/shop/. He provides great after sales service because as you know: A hat is for life!

If you want the hat that the Two Cowboys are wearing, it is called the Bull Rider. Get it here: https://smithbilthats.com/product/bull-rider

Paige 1912

Brian introduced us to the next generation of Hatters. Paige Callaway of Paige 1912 is collaborating with him to come up with a new line of more "fashionable" hats that should appeal to the younger more trendy generation. They appeal to us, and we are not young or trendy.

Stay tuned for more about this young designer. We like what she is doing to revive the old and refresh it with new designs in hats, shirts and other wearables.

Smithbilt Sponsoring the Two Cowboys

Smithbilt is now the official hat sponsor for the Two Cowboys & A Camera. Thank you to Brian and his team for making us look good. If you are keen on a Smithbilt Two Cowboys style hat, drop us a line. We have one to give away to a person we like. Comment on our Facebook page and let us know why you deserve to wear our hat: https://www.facebook.com/profiledproductions.

We look forward to meeting you.

Hendrik van Wyk

Cowboy Wearing a Smithbilt Hat

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o-CNN: Christmas 2016 at the Calgary Farmers' Market in Alberta, Canada

Not Just a Summer Thing

It is that time of year again. We were just getting ready for 2016, to realize that it slipped out right from under us. It is almost gone. Before we know it we will have survived Christmas too. It is likely to be a non-event this year with all the other things that took place to make this an epic year.

Or, will it?

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You know it is the last few days when the snow starts to fall and the bells start to ring. It is that time of year when you get those mysterious little notes around the house. Notes with hints. Suggestions. Lists. On your desk. Under your pillow. On Facebook!

The Two Cowboys also received a note. It came from Kerry Miller, the Calgary Farmers' Market Event Organizer. She invited us to find out what is on offer at the market for Christmas. A first for the Calgary market. We thought that Farmer's Markets were a Summer only affair. We were wrong.

By now you probably know we cannot let an invitation to a market go unanswered. We had to oblige and find out more. We found that it is a new holiday tradition at the Calgary Farmers’ Market titled as Calgary’s "Newest" Christmas Market.  From November 18th to December 11th, 2016 you will be able to visit all of the favourite vendors, plus a number of new and exciting "pop-up" holiday vendors offering Yuletide gifts, food, jewellery, décor and more. Everything for your lists.

There will be plenty of activities from Santa and Carollers to gifting workshops and kids’ activities. It is more of the good things you are accustomed to at the market, only Christmassy.

The festivities kicks off on the 18th of November. More details here.

It is free to attend and guaranteed to fill your stockings, empty your wallet and put smiles on your family's faces. Now you have another excuse to hang out with friends at our local market. You may just find us there too. It is our people.

Thank you for the invitation, Kerry!
Glad we received your note.

Hendrik van Wyk
Christmas Cowboy

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o-CNN: Authentic Rodizio and Caipirinha at Gaucho Brazilian Restaurant in Canmore and Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The Real One

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This is not the "Mexican all inclusive" beach variety. It is the real Caipirinha that requires a designated driver. Marry it with Alberta's finest beef and great Brazilian friends, and you've found a new home away from home. It is an amazing dining experience, guaranteed. I didn't know how much I love Brazil until I met Ede and his team.

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If you would ask my boys where they want to go for a family celebration, there is only one place they come back to time and again: Ede and Rosina's Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue in Canmore (with a location in Calgary as well). Henry and Jan invents occasions that take us to Gaucho! This is where Ede introduced us to the "Rodízio" and my other lovely girlfriend Caipirinha (please don't tell Margarita).

Rodízio

Rodízio is an all-you-can-eat style of restaurant service in Brazilian restaurants. In most areas of the world outside of Brazil, a rodízio restaurant refers to a Brazilian style steakhouse restaurant. Customers pay a fixed price (preço fixo) and the waiters bring samples of food to each customer at several times throughout the meal, until the customers signal that they have had enough. Pace yourself. Come early. It is a huge meal. 

In churrascarias or the traditional Brazilian-style steakhouse restaurants, servers come to the table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of quality cuts of meat, most commonly local cuts of beef, pork, chicken and sometimes exotic meats. At Gaucho, rodízio courses are served right off the cooking spit, and are sliced or plated right at the table. Sometimes they are accompanied with fried potatoes, fried bananas, collard greens, black beans, and rice (served buffet style). Salad is not what you come for at Gaucho, but my wife assures me they are awesome companions to the other vegetables that are also served, like the chicken. 

At Gaucho, as is traditional in many restaurants, the diner is provided with a coloured card, red on one side and green on the other. The servers will only bring more meat if the card is flipped to the green side. Our card usually gets lost somewhere during the meal courtesy of my eldest. He is a big fan.

Caipirinha

Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça, sugar and lime. Cachaça, also known as Pinga or Caninha, is Brazil's most common distilled alcoholic beverage. Although both rum and cachaça are made from sugarcane-derived products, in cachaça the alcohol results from the fermentation of fresh sugarcane juice (that wasn't burned, and in most cases is hand cut) that is then distilled, while rum is usually made from refinery by-products such as molasses. The drink is prepared by muddling the fruit and the sugar together, and adding the liquor. 

Although the real origins of caipirinha, as it is known today, are unknown, according to one account it began around 1918 in the state of São Paulo with a popular recipe made with lime, garlic and honey, indicated for patients with the Spanish flu. Today it is still being used as a remedy for the common cold. As it was quite common to add some distilled spirits to home remedies, in order to expedite the therapeutic effect, rum was commonly used. "Until one day someone decided to remove the garlic and honey (good decision, maybe?). Then added a few tablespoons sugar to reduce the acidity of lime. The ice came next, to ward off the heat," explains Carlos Lima, executive director of IBRAC (Brazilian Institute of Cachaça).

If you are keen on an authentic Caipirinha experience, you don't have many choices in Alberta. Cachaça is nearly impossible to get here, which is hard to believe considering it is the second most consumed spirit in the world next to Bourbon (...according to experts). Ede's restaurants is where you can get your fix, else you have to get a smuggler from Brazil to bring it in for you. There is also one Liqueur store in Calgary that stocks it. It has a Brazilian owner, and that is as much as I am going to say, because it is nearly almost sold out when I get there.

Enjoy our video about Ede and Rosina's Gaucho Brazilian Barbeque. It is a favourite place for us, and we hope it will become yours too.

Hendrik van Wyk

... and the lovely Caipirinha.

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