The caipirinha is Brazil\'s national cocktail, and in Cabana\'s care, it walks the line between sweet and sour. (Richard Graulich / Palm beach Post)

This week's bar: Cabana Nuevo Latino

The scene: Helping anchor the 500 block of Clematis Street after many years on the east end of the downtown West Palm Beach strip, Cabana is a tastefully decorated, 150-seat restaurant with a larger, bona-fide bar area. "We couldn't really cultivate a bar crowd" in the old location, says manager Mario Amaya.

Now, Cabana lures the happy-hour crowd with a menu of classic Latin cocktails, most notably its mojitos, made with the jugs of fruit-infused rum (think berries in one jug, and pineapple, mango and watermelon in others) that sit on the blue-lit bar top. "You can always have the classic mojito, but we had to take it to another level," Amaya says.

The signature cocktail: The Caipirinha ($8.50), the Brazilian national cocktail, made with cachaça (Brazil's fermented sugarcane-based liquor), simple syrup and lime. Cabana's delicious version deftly walks the line between sweet and sour.

Other drinks: If you're crazy for the taste of coconut, you'll go positively loco for the coconut mojito ($8) - after a single sip, I was already planning a return trip to enjoy this cocktail at a more leisurely pace on a future date. In addition to the fresh coconut flavor, it features a small salad's worth of mint and lime, like all of the bar's mojitos. Not a rum drinker? Cabana also mixes traditional and white sangria.

Bar bites: During happy hour, bar patrons enjoy complimentary baskets of homemade fried plantains and guacamole.

Deals: Happy hour runs from 4 p.m. to close seven days a week and features two-for-one mojitos and sangria.

Info: Cabana Nuevo Latino, 533 Clematis St., West Palm Beach, (561) 833-4773, CabanaRestaurant.com | Directions, invite a friend

T H E C O C K T A I L

Caipirinha

1 ounce simple syrup

1/2 lime, cut into wedges

2 ounces Leblon Brazilian cachaça

Muddle the simple syrup with the lime wedges. Add the cachaça and ice, shake and serve.