Cachaça distilleries worth visiting: Salinas and beyond

Minas Gerais is Brazil’s main cachaça state. It had 564 registered producing establishments in 2025, out of 1,538 in Brazil. The best place to visit them is Salinas, in the north, a town of dozens of distilleries with a state-supported cachaça museum. Paraty, on the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, is the easier alternative.

What cachaça is

Cachaça is Brazil’s national spirit. Under Decreto 6.871/2009, article 53, it is a sugarcane spirit with 38% to 48% alcohol by volume at 20°C. It is distilled from fresh fermented cane juice, which sets it apart from most rum, made from molasses.

Artisanal cachaça (cachaça de alambique) is made in small batches in copper pot stills. Industrial cachaça is made in column stills in large volumes. The artisanal kind is what you taste on a distillery visit. Producers age some cachaça in barrels of Brazilian woods, such as amburana, bálsamo and jequitibá, as well as oak. Each wood gives a different color and flavor.

The industry keeps growing. Minas Gerais had 421 registered producers at the end of 2018, 501 in 2024 and 564 in 2025. Brazil as a whole went from 951 at the end of 2018 to 1,266 in 2024 and 1,538 in 2025.

Where to go

Salinas, Minas Gerais

Salinas calls itself the national capital of artisanal cachaça. It has dozens of distilleries, and many hold the INPI geographical indication seal for the region. It also has more registered cachaça brands than any other municipality in Brazil.

Well-known producers in Salinas include Havana, Nova Aliança, Seleta and Salinas. Havana dates from the 1940s and makes about 30,000 liters a year, and its bottles are among the most sought-after in Brazil. Seleta is a large producer, with more than 1 million liters a year. The range shows the town’s split between tiny family stills and big brands.

Check before you go: visits depend on each producer, and many family distilleries take visitors only by appointment. Contact the distillery directly, or ask the Salinas city government or your hotel to arrange visits. Ask whether a tasting fee applies when you book.

Museu da Cachaça. The state culture secretariat (Secult-MG) set up the museum, which opened in December 2012 and was renovated in 2017. It has nine rooms on the role of cachaça in Minas Gerais and the range of artisanal labels. The address is Avenida Antônio Carlos, 1250, Casa Blanca, Salinas. It has opened on this schedule:

The phone number is (38) 3841-4800. Call before you go to confirm hours and any entry fee.

The wider area is known as the Circuito da Cachaça, a tourism circuit that includes Salinas and Novorizonte, among other towns in the north of Minas.

Belo Horizonte

The Mercado Central in Belo Horizonte has dozens of cachaça shops where you can taste and buy, without leaving the city. It opens Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 18:00, and on Sundays and holidays from 8:00 to 13:00. Shopkeepers will pour small samples, so tell them what you like and taste before you buy. See Brazilian markets for the market itself.

Expocachaça, a trade fair, held its 35th edition at CenterMinas Expo in Belo Horizonte on August 6 to 8, 2026, with about 250 exhibitors from 18 states. The fair is aimed at the trade, so ask the organizers whether the public can buy tickets and when the next edition runs.

Paraty, Rio de Janeiro state

Paraty is a colonial port town between Rio and São Paulo, and it has made cachaça since colonial times. In 2007 it received Brazil’s first geographical indication for cachaça from INPI. Six family companies use the seal and make 350,000 to 400,000 liters a year. Most of it is sold to visitors who come to taste at the distilleries.

Four distilleries near town receive visitors: Maria Izabel, Coqueiro, Engenho D’Ouro and Paratiana. Coqueiro is a family producer since 1803, with a tour that includes aging casks and a blending session. Paratiana’s visit includes a cachaça museum. Paraty is also known for Gabriela, a cachaça with clove and cinnamon.

Check before you go: hours and tour prices change by season. Message each distillery a day ahead, or book a distillery tour through an agency in Paraty, which includes transport.

Other states

Areia, in Paraíba, has about 15 sugarcane mills (engenhos) open to visitors, in the hills of the Brejo region. Maranguape, in Ceará, has a cachaça museum in a former Ypióca factory. Both suit travelers already in the Northeast.

Getting there

Salinas is in the far north of Minas Gerais, a long way from Belo Horizonte and the colonial towns. The usual route is a long-distance bus from Belo Horizonte, or a flight to Montes Claros, the regional hub, followed by a few hours by road. Buses leave from the Belo Horizonte bus station. Buy a day or two ahead, and earlier for the July festival.

Check before you go: times and fares change by season. Check with the Belo Horizonte bus station or the bus companies that serve Salinas. For how to buy long-distance tickets, see long-distance buses in Brazil.

Paraty is easier. Buses run from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and the town is a common stop on coastal road trips.

When to go

The Festival Mundial da Cachaça is the busiest time in Salinas. The 23rd edition ran July 10 to 12, 2026, at the Parque de Exposições Adail Melo, with more than 45,000 visitors expected. The festival has been held yearly since 2002, with tastings, producer stands and concerts. Book lodging early if you go for the festival.

Outside the festival, the dry months from about May to September are the cane harvest, when many distilleries are working. That is the best time to see production. Salinas is hot and dry for much of the year, so plan visits in the morning or late afternoon.

Where to base

Salinas is a small town with a modest choice of hotels and pousadas, most in the center. Book directly with the hotel, and well ahead for July. For the wider region, the Minas Gerais hub covers Ouro Preto and Tiradentes. In Paraty, stay in or near the historic center and take a tour or taxi to the distilleries.

What to do

• Visit the Museu da Cachaça in Salinas to see the range of labels.
• Taste at a distillery. Ask how long the spirit aged and in which wood.
• Compare a white (prata) cachaça with an aged one (ouro or envelhecida).
• Buy bottles direct from the producer, which you often cannot find elsewhere.
• Pair it with food. Comida mineira covers the state’s cooking, and Brazilian food by region covers cheese and other heritage foods.

Spirits are strong. Arrange a driver or a taxi before a tasting day.

Costs

Distillery visits range from free tastings at the shop to paid guided tours. Prices are set by each producer, so ask when you book. Bottles bought at the distillery are often cheaper than in city shops, and rare labels can be costly.

Carry cash for small producers, since card machines are not universal in rural areas. Check your home country’s limits on bringing spirits back, and pack bottles in checked luggage. For paying in small towns, see money in Brazil.

Skip it if

• You want a set tour schedule. Most small distilleries visit by appointment.
• You do not drink spirits. The museum in Salinas is the main option without tasting.
• You have one day in Minas. Salinas is in the far north of the state, and the colonial towns are elsewhere.
• You dislike long road trips. Reaching Salinas takes most of a day.