Until now I have been talking a lot about beer.
I know a lot of you don't drink beer. I know a lot of you don't drink. I know a lot of you have other problems, but we can talk about that in private.
More importantly, in Brazil there exists a drink, more accurately a type of liquor, known as cachaça. It is produced from fermented sugarcane and it is used to make the national drink of Brazil (and quite possibly the most sugary drink in the world): the caipirinha.
For R$6 (which at the time of writing this translates to approximately $3.60USD) you can buy a (glass) 750 ml bottle (a fifth) of 51 (Cinquenta e Um), the classiest cachaça in Brazil (note: an 8oz can of Red Bull costs more than this).
There are a countless number of brands to choose from, but unfortunately, due to my not yet having a limitless supply of money, I have yet to experiment beyond the offerings of R$6 bottles.
I have been told that Minas Gerais produces the best cachaça in Brazil (aka Cinquenta e Um), but I have also been told that without inflicting too much damage to my wallet, a decent bottle can be purchased in Rio.
Cachaça mixed with guaraná has become my cheap, delicious and effective drink of choice, but I hope to expand on this in the future.