Blog
October 31, 2011

Pisco Sour

Have you ever heard of a country having a national drink? Some places are maybe known for making certain types of wine or other alcohol, but its pretty rare to be known for a mixed drink. Peru and Chile share their national drink, the Pisco Sour, mainly because they can’t decide who actually came up with the idea.

It looks like a margarita, with a light green color and sugar all around the rim. It’s said that one drink is not enough, while three is two many. How many drinks do you know that can make your night off of two drinks? Talk about economical. Of course there’s variations on the drink nowadays, you can add different flavors to it. But the original Sour goes down smooth and refreshing, with almost everyone enjoying the taste.

Pisco Sour Recipe

If you’d like to try making your own, the recipe is fairly simple.

  • 3 parts pisco brandy
  • 1 1/2 parts lemon juice
  • 1 - 2 tbsp HYPERLINK "http://www.drinksmixer.com/desc605.html"sugar

There’s also a more traditional version that contains egg whites, which give the drink its traditional frothiness.

  • 1½ oz Pisco
  • 1 oz Lemon / Lime Juice
  • Dash Angostura Bitters

Just mix everything together and blend with ice. If you don’t like using a blender, you can shake it. The bitters get sprinkled on top when everything is done. Pretty easy, right?

Pisco Sour History

Peru and Chile may lay claims to mixing the cocktail, but its beginning dates all the way back to the sixteenth century, when the grapes used to make Pisco were first brought to South America. Apparently, the king of Spain outlawed wine in the seventeenth century. This forced the settlers to become a little creative, and Pisco was born.

If you’re wondering what exactly Pisco is, its a colorless grape brandy. Extremely strong, too. It’s somewhere between 40-45% alcohol for a great bottle of Pisco. They do make it a little less potent with the regular containing only 30-35%.

There’s two stories to Pisco Sours. One happened in Lima, Peru. The other happened in a city that was first Peruvian, but later became a part of Chile. Its called Iquique, and that’s Chile’s claim to the drink. If you ask me, the drink is Peruvian. Just because the city later changed hands doesn’t change the fact that it was Peruvian when the drink was concocted.

According to the Lima story, Victor Morris created the Pisco Sour as variation of the Whiskey Sour. His bar became well known for the drink. And as for Iquique, Elliot Stubb was just experimenting with drinks and hit upon something that everyone loved. Either way, someone came up with a great drink that should definitely be on your list of favorites!

 

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