Although the origin of the drink is unknown, one account says it came about around 1918 in the region of Alentejo in Portugal, with a popular recipe made with lemon, garlic, and honey, indicated for patients with the Spanish flu. Another account is that Caipirinha is based on Poncha, an alcoholic drink from Madeira, Portugal. The main ingredient is "aguardente de cana", which is made from sugar cane. Sugar cane production switched from Madeira to Brazil by the Portuguese as they needed more land to plant it on. Before this people in Madeira had already created "aguardente de cana", which was the ancestor to cachaça.