Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/72473
CACHAÇA Who's Got R RIO DE JANEIRO–BORN COSME GOMES EXPLAINS HOW PREMIUM SPIRIT BRAND BOSSA CAPTURES THE SOOTHING AND SOPHISTICATED BEAT OF BRAZIL, WHILE CELEBRATING HIS COUNTRY'S ACHIEVEMENTS IN MODERN ART, MUSIC AND ITS LONG HISTORY OF CACHAÇA-MAKING by Elyse Glickman io de Janeiro is having its moment, with the World Cup slated for 2014, the Olympic Summer Games for 2016, renewed chic as a travel destina- tion and even a discovery of oil reserves large enough to last centuries. Cosme Gomes, however, saw this new era coming for a very long time. Over the years, he has seen his native city's image evolve internationally from the usual sun, fun and bikinis into a more complete picture of a thriving tropical urban center with a laid-back yet sophisticated lifestyle, the cultural soul of the newest powerhouse of premium consumers in the Western Hemisphere—Brazil. Understanding the many facets of his native country and how large and undiscovered cachaça still was internationally, Gomes set out to create a premium Brazilian spirit brand that captured his memories of growing up in Rio de Janeiro and his love of bossa nova music. In the process, BOSSA is redefining for the world what it means to be a Carioca (as Rio's locals are called) and what truly is the so-called "Brazilian spirit." "BOSSA represents a collection of my memories of growing up in Rio's Ipanema Beach, my passion for bossa nova music, Brazil's modern art scene and my country's five-century tradition of cachaça-making," Gomes states. "Anybody who visits Rio and takes Bossa? Cosme Gomes is the Brazilian entrepreneur behind BOSSA Cachaça. 96 / the tasting panel / july 2012 PHOTO: TOM CLARK PHOTO: TOM CLARK