Pisco

[SamuraiBartender]

Good evening! Do any of you good gentles favor a particular brand of Pisco?
How do you best enjoy it?
Do you prefer a certain brand for mixing cocktails with, or enjoying straight? For that matter, do you prefer the Peruvian variety or the Chilean?

---------------------------------------------

Personally, I had enjoyed the Chilean ABA brand quite thoroughly until its producers, in their infinite wisdom, opted to "reassess" the brand, thus ceasing all exports. I have thankfully found a suitable replacement (primarily for mixing, though they both are quite nice over ice) in BarSol's Quebranta, and occasionally in their Acholado. The Quebranta constructs a fantastic Pisco Sour...

For enjoying straight, I've recently acquired a bottle of La Bojita Italia, a marvelous spirit with a complex aroma, assertive body and silk-smooth finish. I given to understand that the same company likewise produces a Quebranta & Acholado, which I mean to sample at first opportunity.

All of these are Peruvian Piscos - ABA aside, I have honestly yet to sample another Chilean brand which approaches even the worst of the various Peruvian brands I've tried in flavor (no disparagement against Chilean Pisco intended, merely an observation of experience).

What say you?

[Count Silvio]

Personally I've never had the opportunity to ever have a Pisco Sour yet alone Pisco as it is not available here and the thought has never occured to me to have one abroad but I remember our member Bill Gorton talking about it on a few occasions. This is his recipe for the Pisco Sour right here.

[SamuraiBartender]

Count,
I am greatly saddened to hear this, most distressing, fact - I would urge you to sample one such Sour at your next opportunity as it embodies, quite possibly, the pinnacle of the Sour 'family' of cocktails.

Nice recipe, though I'm suprised that it's prepared blender-wise. I've never made them with Key limes either, but with the extra acid I'm guessing that's why the simple is a full ounce? For kicks, here's the recipe I use (pretty standard throughout all the old books):

Pisco Sour
2 oz. Quebranta Pisco
1 oz. fresh Lime juice
3/4 oz. Raw Simple syrup (plain Simple works fine too)
1x fresh Egg white
Dry shake ingredients briefly to emuslify. Add ice & shake well. Add 2-3 goodly dashes of Angostura bitters to the foam & swirl it into a spiral with a straw or spoon. Enjoy.

Cheers!

[tiare]

Neither have i tried any Pisco..its not available here just like for Finland. I would really like to try a good Pisco Sour..i have a feeling i would really like it.

[Bill Gorton]

greeting and salutations good sirs (and madam). living in peru, the home of pisco i might be able to add a bit of enlightenment to the discussion. the count was kind enough to already link to my recipe for this drink. i had a bartender at a little lunch spot whip me up a glass one afternoon to get the phtograph.

please keep in mind, this recipe is as generic and basic as possible (as is the photograph). the intent is soley to give those unversed on this particular refreshment an idea of what it is all about. i have a few peruvian books that cover this topic if further information - or perhaps a more refined version of the recipe - is required by any interested party.

the most important ingredient - baring the pisco, of course - is the limes. regular persian limes are not sufficent. peruvian limes are smaller but hold twice as much juice which is more than twice the level of acidity as well. this is a key to making the drink authentically. you can make a decent pisco sour with mediocre pisco but you can't make even a mediocre pisco sour with the wrong kind of limes.

then there is the pisco. this is a very touchy topic here on the west coast of south america. peruvians insist chilean pisco is like drinking water - and a comparison of alcohol content by the different brands bears this out. on the other hand, chile produces more pisco in a month than peru does annually. so those of you not nestled in the shadow of the andes themselves probably have only had the opportunity to sample the latter.

last year i penned a pair of short articles examining the dispute that has links to various source materials that might be of help explaining the situation.

the drink is incredibly refreshing and highly recommended by this correspondent. i must note that there are quite a few other coctails common here on the continent that feature pisco which, to my knowledge, are unknown elsewhere (my personal favorite being the Algarrobina). it's worth doing a bit of sleuthing if you have an affection for this wonderful alcohol.

[tiare]

Thanks Bill Gordon,i`ll definetily check out your link but i`m soon on my way to work so maybe later tonight. As for the limes...here we can only get persian limes, so what is the BEST sub???

[Bill Gorton]

Thanks Bill Gordon,i`ll definetily check out your link but i`m soon on my way to work so maybe later tonight. As for the limes...here we can only get persian limes, so what is the BEST sub???

key limes. other than that, you might be out of luck.

[SamuraiBartender]

While I'll agree that the Peruvian limes (are these the limons I hear about every once in a blue moon, no?) make the best Pisco Sour (local ingredients often pair best with local spirits after all), even a Persian Lime can crank out an acceptably delicious one. That they can get any better is amazing - thanks for the clarification on the difference the lime makes. I'll have to try the Key limes and compare the two...huzzah for 'quality-control'!

Out of curiosity - I've found that when I make these with regular (white sugar) Simple, they're lacking something flavor-wise. Yet with a Raw (Turbinado/Demerara sugar) Simple, they come out bloody marvelous. While that can't be an acidity issue as you'd mentioned with the limes, could there be another 'flavor interaction' going on there..?

Oh Bill Gorton, as you're at the source, what Pisco(s) do you favor, and are any of them available (US) state-side? Any idea what Pisco(s) are available for Tiare & the Count also (BarSol perhaps?)?

Cheers!
P.S. - When I was last at the Pegu Club I had them make me a Pisco Sour, but I requested they use Robert Hess's 'House Bitters' on top - whoa! Fantastic! Since I've tried them with other types or mixes of different bitters...all to interesting effect...

[Bill Gorton]

are these the limons I hear about every once in a blue moon, no?

quite right

Out of curiosity - I've found that when I make these with regular (white sugar) Simple, they're lacking something flavor-wise. Yet with a Raw (Turbinado/Demerara sugar) Simple, they come out bloody marvelous. While that can't be an acidity issue as you'd mentioned with the limes, could there be another 'flavor interaction' going on there..?

i'll ask around.

Oh Bill Gorton, as you're at the source, what Pisco(s) do you favor, and are any of them available (US) state-side? Any idea what Pisco(s) are available for Tiare & the Count also (BarSol perhaps?)?

i must confess i'm i'm not anything close to an expert on the drink but i will see what i can dig up on it. i'm also back to my teetotalling ways due to a rigourous athletic training regimen. thus i am regretably forced to be relying on the word of others for this.

perhaps the best place to get started is the 2007 International Wine & Spirit Competition winners from peru. unsurprisingly, all of the alcohols from the andean nation that placed were piscos. a very basic rundown on the various types of the alcohol can be found here.

i should add that if you are in new jersey you should be in one of the best locations to find the drink. paterson, nj is home to the largest concentrations of peruvians per capita in the country. a lot of import activity is centered there as a result.

in the meantime, my good friend and culinary compatriot alejandro wrote an interesting post about the drink in honor of pisco sour day in february. it's got a lot of good links.

[tiare]

Thanks for the links! that illustrated pisco sour recipe from Japan was fun!

I`m on the hunt for some key limes now..

[tiare]

So here are a few of the Piscos i can find from Germany, are any of them good?


Pisco Alto del Carmen

Pisco Capel Reservado

Control Gran Pisco

[SamuraiBartender]

Holy smokes - a Pisco Sour day as a holiday and I missed it...

Thanks for all the links Bill Gorton! It's funny you should mention Patterson - I was there just yesterday. New Jersey is odd like that - huge numbers of Puerto Rican & Dominican folks in the Perth Amboy area also so there's always Medallia & Brugal available locally

As for those particular Piscos Tiare, I've not yet had/seen any of those. Germany is quite fond of the various South American spirits though (cachaca especially), so I'd wager it a pretty safe bet that those are decent examples of the spirit..?

Cheers!

[tiare]

I guess i have to just try the one that looks best and see for myself..hopefully i`ll like it.

[Bill Gorton]

Neither have i tried any Pisco..its not available here just like for Finland. I would really like to try a good Pisco Sour..i have a feeling i would really like it.

looks like there is good news for you this week out of peru.

[tiare]

Thanks for those great news Bill! i`m going to check out when that will be available here, maybe its quite soon then..

I was just before i read this going to ask if there was anything that is anywhere close to Pisco that i could use for trying this recipe:

Trinidad Especial by Valentino Bolognese - Italy

30 ml Angostura Aromatic Bitters
30 ml Orgeat Syrup
20 ml Fresh lime Juice
10 ml Pisco Mistral

Shake hard and long, and strain in a martini glass (or shooter glasses to share)

[paulipbartender]

The Nordic countries are emerging as potential consumers of Peruvian pisco given its culture of consumption of distilled beverages

Roughly translated as the culture of crazy Nordic alcoholics

[Bill Gorton]

not exactly, it is the distilled part that matters here. peruvian pisco producers, as i mentioned above, target the top end and they are trying to find new markets to sell to. that means places where there is a drinking public that is not only open to this type of drink but discriminating in their tastes as well.

still, your point is well taken.

[tiare]

What...???? a so you seh???

"culture of crazy Nordic alcoholics" ..???

Hmm...Paul..how many bottles of rum do you finish in a week...eh?''

More than i do..i`m sure 100% and don´t try to talk yourself out of it..

But Pisco is surely welcome to me anyway!

Count..what`s your opinion on this?

[Count Silvio]

My opinion is that I'm proud to be a crazy Nordic alcoholic (not that I really am an alcoholic).

[paulipbartender]

What...???? a so you seh???

"culture of crazy Nordic alcoholics" ..???

Hmm...Paul..how many bottles of rum do you finish in a week...eh?''

More than i do..i`m sure 100% and don´t try to talk yourself out of it..

But Pisco is surely welcome to me anyway!

Count..what`s your opinion on this?

We do finish a lot of rum, but that's understandable - as Anglo-saxons, we're related to our crazy Nordic drinking cousins.

Cheers......*hic*

[Count Silvio]

I call it research.

[tiare]

Cheers......*hic*

I`ve noticed that you "hic" yourself through the rum-cocktail internet sphere..you`re a true Anglo-saxon, no doubt.

As for my bar, its really not a "bar" its my LAB.

I`m educating myself, and yes Count..that`s called research.

[Bill Gorton]

just spoke to the bartender at astrid y gaston and he's gonna give me a primer on this... stay tuned.

[tiare]

Looking forward to that..

We now have got Pisco in our spirit shop! its a brand called Pisco Capel, so how is this brand?

[Bill Gorton]

not sure. i'll ask around.

i wasn't able to get back to the restaurant last week but it's an appointment i plan to keep. i was in lima's el centro yesterday and stopped off at a little bar for another type of pisco coctail known as the chilcano de pisco. if you've gotten the pisco bug, i highly reccomend it.

[tiare]

Thanks for the recipe, it looks tasty! now i have 3 Pisco drinks to try as soon as i get my hands on a bottle of Pisco! Fortunately now i can get it here, makes things so much easier..