Pisco Sour

I finally picked up a bottle of pisco a couple of weekends ago.



Pisco is a fairly clear brandy made from various type of grapes in Chile and Peru. The history of it is pretty interesting as both countries claim to be the origin of the beverage and both seem to claim it as their national drink. The Alto del Carmen that I picked up is from Chile (as the person who introduced me to pisco was also from Chile.) This one has the faint aroma of a light rum and the taste of a really mild brandy. It's a little bit slippery too.

It seems that the most popular drink to use pisco in is the pisco sour , made with lemons or limes and sugar. Most of the more traditional recipes also call for some egg white and a dash of bitters. I made mine with lemon juice and some simple syrup that I had previously made from turbinado sugar. I totally forgot about the bitters and didn't feel like buying a bunch of eggs just for a drink (though I think doing so would really add to the body of this one and make it something special.) If you want a traditional one, go look it up. Otherwise feel free to try mine:

Grant's Pisco Sour

• 3 oz. Chilean pisco
• 1 oz. lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
• 1 oz. simple syrup (turbinado)

Shake all in cocktail shaker and pour in tall glass over lots of ice. Good times.

I'll go back and try this with the bitters at some point. I'll probably also give it a shot with lime or a mixture of lemon and lime. Who knows... I might even use some egg white if I have some handy one day. Maybe I'll also get a bottle of Peruvian pisco and see what the deal with that is.

Thanks Maribel and Barbar!

Update 10/13/07:
I just made the the above with lime instead of lemon. I think I like this better. I keep forgetting the bitters... I'll have to try harder.