In Chapter IV - Alcoholic Distilled ones and Liquors - Section II - of Sugar Cane Spirits - Art. 91st : Sugar cane aguardente, caninha or cachaça is the drink with alcoholic graduation from 38% to 54% in volume, at 20ºC, obtained from sugar cane alcoholic distilled or from sugar cane leavened must distillation. Sugars of until six grams per liter could be added.

- § 1st The drink that contains more then six grams per liter of sugar will be called sweetened sugar cane aguardente, sweetened caninha or sweetened cachaça.
- § 2nd It Will be called aged sugar cane aguardente, aged caninha or aged cachaça the drink that contains at least fifty percent of aged sugar cane aguardente, by a minimum period of one year, Caramel could de added for color correction.
- § 3rd The congenerous coefficient could not be inferior to two hundred milligrams per one hundred milliliters of anhydride alcohol.

On December 21st, 2001, the president of Brazil signed the Decree Nº 4.062 that defines "cachaça", "Brazil" and "Cachaça from Brazil" expressions, as geographic indications and gives names to other procedures. In its 3rd article the named expressions could only be used to indicate that the product obeys the general rules established in Law N. 8.918, July 14th, 1994, and the Decree N. 2.314, of 4 September, 1997, and that its use is restricted to the producers established in the country. The decree N. 4.072, January 3rd, 2002, gives new writing to the arts. 81, 91 and 93 in regulation approved by the Decree N. 2.314, September 4th , 1997, characterizing "caipirinha" as a typical Brazilian drink, exclusively elaborated with cachaça, lemon and sugar.