No doubt, with upcoming events like the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, more and more people will become aware of Brazilian culture. That’s a trend that hasn’t been lost on the makers of cachaça (pronounced “ka-SHA-sa,”), the key ingredient in Brazil’s classic cocktail, the caipirinha (pronounced “kai-pur-EEN-ya”).

Several cachaça brands have been working hard to promote the category, educating consumers about the spirit, and doing outreach with bartenders and restaurateurs to teach them how to incorporate it in cocktails and on menus.

The effort appears to be paying off. One brand, Leblon Cachaça, was recently designated as a “rising star growth brand” by Beverage Information Group. The award is given to brands that are less than five years old and have shown dramatic growth.

Sales of Leblon have been growing at a double-digit pace, which is even more impressive when one considers that Americans slowed their liquor consumption last year.

Leblon is using Carnival, which ends tonight, as a way of encouraging bars and restaurants build events around cachaça-based drinks. The company’s promotion focuses on “Caipi Hours,” which feature specially priced caipirinhas cocktails made from cachaça and freshly muddled limes and sugar.

Rival Cabana Cachaça also is sponsoring some promotions tied to the Carnival period, but instead of focusing on caipirinhas, the company has worked with bartenders in several different cities to create cachaça-based drinks that are representative of the region.

Cabana Cachaça’s strategy has focused, in part, on the popularity of the local foods movement, emphasizing that cachaça is a very versatile spirit that can be mixed with just about anything including fruit juices and tonic. The brand also emphasizes that it is a single-estate cachaça that is doubled-distilled and aged for nine months.

Although cachaça remains unknown to many U.S. consumers, it is the third-most consumed spirit in the world.

In the U.S., there has been a lot of confusion about the product. No doubt some of this can be tied to the fact that under U.S. law, the spirit must be labeled Brazilian rum. While both cachaça and rum are derived from sugar cane, cachaça takes the actual cane sugar juice and ferments and distills it, while rum is derived from molasses.

“It’s more akin to tequila in terms of its nose and profile,” said Steve Luttmann, president and founder of Leblon. So think of it this way, you make a caipirinha like a mojito, but it tastes a bit like a margarita.